Promise of Jasper
by gemstoneshaman
Summary: Uzumaki Maika's life has been a series of tragedies, one after another, since she first woke up to find her home destroyed and her life shattered. Uchiha Itachi has always been her anchor, but in the wake of Akatsuki, nothing remains certain.
1. Awakening

**Me: I do not own Naruto~**

**Naruto: Hell yeah!**

**Me: -_-lll What are you doing here?**

**So...also part of my gemstones series! Enjoy! Review! And check out my blog! It's on my website, XD.**

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><p><em>She was a surprise.<em>

**I.**

"Are you sure about this, Kushina-chan?" Minato asked worriedly.

"Stop asking me that, Minato-kun! I said I'm sure and I am!" His wife snapped back.

He sighed. "If you say so...it's been years since you've seen Uzushiogakure."

Kushina softened. "Yeah...I know. But I have to go. I have to see what it's become, -ttebane."

It had been her home, after all...a long, long time ago.

**II.**

"It's a mess..." The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero breathed in sorrow as she looked over the wreckage of her former village.

Minato put an arm around her in comfort.

Kushina accepted the contact, leaning back against her husband. He had always been her rock, her shelter in the storm, and she needed him now, more than ever.

Her eyes roamed over the destroyed place, taking in the fallen buildings and rock rubble and metal shards and a flicker of chakra over there-

"Minato-kun!" She cried, pulling herself out of his embrace. Hope flared, sharp and incandescent and all too easily snuffed out. Could it be a survivor?

Immediately, the most popular candidate for the Fourth Hokage had his special kunai out, his sharp cerulean eyes scanning over the area. "What is it?"

The Third Shinobi War had _just_ ended and paranoia and fear still ran strong. Minato had no intention of letting Kushina get hurt, not now, not ever.

"It's - I think-" Cutting herself off, Kushina leapt forward, clearing most of the ruins in a single bound.

Cursing, Minato hurriedly followed, keeping an eye out for enemy ninja. What the hell was going on here?

Kushina landed easily in front of the remains of a ruined building and quickly kneeled, placing her hands on the ground.

There. _Right t__here. _A steadily burning chakra below the debris. Hope flared, sharp and incandescent. What if...

"Kushina-chan!" Minata said firmly. "What is it?"

Stunned, the red-haired kunoichi looked up into his blue eyes. "There's something underneath here. Something with chakra." She whispered.

Minato's eyes widened. "Move back."

Face pale and eyes wide, Kushina got to her feet and obeyed. "Go."

Minato nodded grimly and went through several handseals. "Earth Release: Upheaval."

Slowly, painstakingly, the Yellow Flash peeled back the layers of the rubble and earth until Kushina abruptly held out a hand. She didn't seem to notice that her hand was trembling visibly.

"Once more." She said, her voice strained with apprehension and nervousness. "Carefully."

Minato ran through the jutsu one more time and the final layer of dirt peeled away to reveal a large cavern underneath.

Kushina inhaled sharply. It was one thing to suspect, but to actually see with her own eyes..."I need to go down there."

Minato looked at her. "You aren't going to be going alone."

The Uzumaki Heiress managed a small smile. "Who said I was going alone, -ttebane?"

Minato smiled reassuringly and jumped in before his wife could insist on going first. He knew she would abject, but it was _his _job to protect _her._

"Minato! You jerk!"

**III.**

"This is..." Kushina breathed, glancing around at the large tunnel lit up by chakra.

"Amazing." Minato finished.

Intricate, complicated seals that must have taken months to complete covered the inside of the tunnel, dark and tasting of pure power. Kushina hadn't seen such a work of fuinjutsu since her childhood years...and those had been created on a much smaller scale. Even for a village known for its fuinjutsu, this was unbelievable. She couldn't imagine the time that must have went into this.

Minato walked over to inspect one of the seals. "I don't think these are dangerous. They're made for stability and preservation." He had a finger down the curving lines, quietly thirsty for the chance to explore and analyze the immaculate work.

Kushina glanced down at her feet. On the 'floor' were seals too. "Where do you think they lead?" She asked, heart thudding against her chest. Maybe...just maybe...

Minato grinned at her. "Let's find out."

They had no idea what lay in wait for them in the tunnel...nor where it would take them.

Kushina grinned back. "What are we waiting for?" She was a jounin kunoichi, the Red Hot Habanero, and she backed down for nothing and nobody.

**IV.**

They followed the seals for a long time. The tunnel went up and down and curved and twisted without pattern or reason.

"Kushina-chan..." Minato said uncertainly. "Are you sure we should keep going?" He didn't doubt her, but this could potentially be very dangerous.

"It's just ahead." She kept her eyes focused upfront. "I can feel the chakra..."

Minato frowned thoughtfully. He knew his wife was a sensor-type and was much more sensitive to chakra than he was.

"Describe it to me." He encouraged.

Kushina tilted her head to the side a bit, clearly focusing. "It's...small. Like it's not full grown. But it's strong, -ttebane." She hesitated. "It's also strangely still."

Minato blinked. "Still?" Her tone alerted him to her unease, but anyone else would have thought her completely unconcerned. He knew different, had known her for years.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah. Chakra shifts and changes with its user, but this one...isn't moving at all." Worry flickered in her violet eyes.

Before he could respond, the tunnel took a sharp turn and they found themselves in front of a door covered in seals.

They exchanged looks and Minato put his hand to the doorknob. "Ready?" The metal was cold against his palm, the cold of years of neglect.

He held a kunai in his other hand. He didn't care who it was, but he would allow no one to harm the love of his life.

Kushina bit her lip and readied her chakra. There was no telling what was on the other side. "Ready."

Minato twisted the doorknob, knocking the door open with his shoulder.

When nothing jumped at them, Kushina performed a quick fire jutsu and lit up the dark space.

She reeled back in shock and Minato's eyes widened. They had expected many things, most of which were probably ridiculous, but they had never considered _this_.

The chamber was smoothly carved, as if someone had spent a lot of time making sure it would never cave in. Every solid inch of it was covered in seals. There was literally no space left for anything else.

On the floor, impossibly complicated seals centered on a single, little girl.

She looked no older than 4 years old. Burgundy red hair - darker than Kushina's by far - splayed around her like a protective halo. She wore a simple white dress and white slippers. In the dim light, her skin glowed healthily as if she had been well taken care of since the years after Uzushiogakure fell.

Her features were peaceful and her eyes were closed.

Kushina staggered and would have fell if Minato hadn't caught her.

"...Kushina-chan?" He asked tentatively.

"I know her." The redhead gasped into the quiet. "_I know her!"_

"Shh. Calm down." Minato murmured in her ear. "Who is she?"

"Uzumaki Maika. The little girl of my mother's best friend." Kushina stared blankly at the toddler. "I thought she was dead."

_Like the rest of them._

Watching the seals around little Maika burn with a steady flow of chakra, Minato slowly shook his head. "If nothing else...she isn't dead."

**V.**

"Suspension seals." Minato told his sensei a whole week later. "The Uzumakis put her in a large, self-sustaining suspension seal in an underground chamber before Uzushiogakure fell."

Jiraiya whistled. "That was a decade and a half ago."

"Yeah." The blond wearily rubbed his brow. "And they've kept her alive all this time." A miracle, a feat previously thought impossible. 'Well,' He thought sardonically to himself, 'at least now we know that those people were wrong.'

The Toad Sannin frowned. "Will she wake up?"

Minato nodded slowly. "The medics predict she'll wake up in a few days."

Jiraiya was silent for a moment. "How is Kushina taking this?"

"To be honest? I don't know." Minato said. "And I think...she doesn't either."

**VI.**

Kushina stared intently on the fragile little girl lying on the hospital bed as if her will alone would wake her up. Her body was tense, her breathing calm only through her years of training. It had been such a long time...since she had met another Uzumaki. She didn't know what to expect, but what she did know was that no one would ever harm this little girl if she had a say.

Minato stood a little behind her and watched as the nurses took her off the sedative. He said nothing and she was grateful. This was something she had to deal with on her own.

They waited, the air growing tense with anticipation and anxiety as the minutes passed. The clock went tick-tock, tick-tock behind Kushina and she found the noise aggravating. Why was it taking so damn long?

The thought had barely crossed her mind when Uzumaki Maika stirred for the first time in more than a decade.

Her eyes fluttered open, revealing confused orbs of palest pink.

They focused slowly on the ceiling and then began to coast erratically across the room.

"...Maika-chan?" Kushina called softly.

Maika sluggishly focused on her. Blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice-

"Kushina-chan?" She asked uncertainly, her young voice scratchy from disuse.

Kushina beamed, tears coming to her eyes. Unable to help herself, she threw herself on the toddler, hugging her closely.

The nurse tutted in disapproval, but smiled despite herself.

Obviously completely bewildered, Maika looked over at Minato in confusion.

He just grinned happily at her.

**VII.**

"Minato-kun!" Kushina said, slamming open the door.

The jounin looked up from his paperwork, blinking at his wife.

"Kushina-chan. Maika-chan." Minato smiled warmly at the little girl hiding behind his wife's legs.

Maika smiled, only an upward twitch of her lips really. It had only been a month since she had woken up, but she seemed to like Minato at least.

It had been a slow-going process with the young Uzumaki. She was slow to trust and slower still to recover from her ordeal. The years that had passed by without her didn't help matters.

"Minato-kun!" Kushina called again, red hair flying everywhere.

The Yellow Flash smiled indulgently at his wife. "What is it?"

"I want to adopt Maika-chan, -ttebane!" She declared loudly.

The girl in question winced at the noise, but didn't reject her statement.

Minato did his best to look surprised. "As a sister, you mean?"

"Of course! As my younger sister!" Kushina paused suspiciously. "Wait. Why do you know?"

He grinned at her and held up a paper. "Because I already legalized it."

Kushina's eyes widened and she hurriedly grabbed the paper.

Looking it over, she realized that is was the final copy for the adoption process.

"But - How -" She stuttered, mouth wide open.

The adoption process needed her signature and Maika's and Kushina was fairly certain she had not sighed anything recently. Which...also explained why her desk was piled up with stacks of paper. She had no intention of ever going near it.

"I talked to the Hokage and he got it done for me." Minato lounged against his chair, smirking triumphantly.

A second of silence passed. Two.

"Minato-kun!" Kushina flung herself at her husband. "You're the best, -ttebane!"

He laughed and kissed her heatedly on the mouth. Ah, he loved Kushina, passion and temper and all.

The redhead moaned and slid her tongue against his. Heat flared between them...

And a delicate cough bought them back to reality and they broke away, flushing.

Maika raised an eyebrow at them in disapproval.

"Ah." Minato sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that."

"You're going to have to get used to it, Maika-chan." Kushina smiled impishly. "Since you're going to be living with us now as my little sister."

It was amazing what the exasperated sigh of a four year old could convey.

The couple laughed smugly.

_He was a genius_

**I.**

"Push, Mikoto-sama! Push!" The mid-wife urged.

The Uchiha Matriarch gritted her teeth and bore down with all of her strength, panting and gasping.

A few minutes later, a newborn's cries filled the air.

"Congratulations, Fugaku-sama." The mid-wife handed a small, tiny life to the Uchiha Head. "It's a boy."

The hardened shinobi looked down at his child, all silky black hair and round eyes, and felt his heart melt but slightly.

He walked over to his exhausted wife and presented her son to her. She smiled wanly, gently taking the boy from him. Mikoto cuddled him close to her breast, eyes tender with maternal love.

"What shall we call him?" She asked, pressing a sweet kiss to the babe's forehead.

Fugaku gave a rare smile to his wife and child, reaching out to smooth a hand over the boy's soft black hair.

"Itachi." He said. "Uchiha Itachi."

Mikoto nuzzled her son happily, but wearily. "May you grow up to be an honorable man, Itachi."

"And may you be a great shinobi and a magnificent clan heir." Fugaku added.

They had no idea how right they would be.

**II.**

As a child, Itachi was very quiet.

Quiet but inquisitive.

"Okaa-san." Itachi called, his soft voice insistent.

Calmly setting down the shirt she had been mending, the young mother rose from her seat and crossed the room where her son had been fiddling with a puzzle box.

"Yes, Itachi?" She knelt next to the boy with such wide, innocent coal black eyes.

He held out the puzzle box, his growing black hair getting into his eyes to his silent annoyance. "I'm finished."

Blinking, she took the puzzle from him and went over it. It had been perfectly solved.

Turning back to her patiently waiting son, she awarded him with a pleased smile. "Well done, Itachi."

"Thank you, Okaa-san." Her son was ever so polite and sometimes, she worried that he would never behave as a child should. "What now?"

Mikoto considered thoughtfully. Her son was certainly smart enough and in the war the Village was in…yes, best to start early. They were talking about destroying the Kannabi Bridge, but that would take time yet.

"Today," She told her son of 18 months, "We are going to be setting traps."

Itachi's eyes sparkled with interest.

**III.**

"Otou-san." Itachi bowed respectfully to his father, face perfectly serious despite the scene in front of him.

Fugaku, his face a confusing mix of pride and embarrassment, attempted to frown with dignity at his three year old son. Considering he was hanging from the ceiling, it wasn't very persuasive.

"Let him down, Itachi-kun." Mikoto said from the doorway, covering her smile with her hand. It may have taken him a year and a half, but the little boy had managed to successfully catch his father in a simple trap. The impressive part was that he wasn't even a genin, while his father was a seasoned jounin.

"Of course, Okaa-san." He replied, face still impossibly stoic.

As soon as his father was out of sight and sound, he grinned widely in triumph and Mikoto broke down laughing hysterically.

_He was an anomaly._

**I.**

Shisui was a strange Uchiha.

He was always smiling and laughing despite the firm reminders that he was an Uchiha and should be a dutiful, strong, _controlled_ shinobi for the clan.

Shisui paid no attention to that and to the elders horror, his father, Kagami, didn't particularly care either.

The boy went around grinning and teasing, acting like the polar opposite of what an Uchiha should be and generally annoyed everyone around.

If he noticed the uneasy whispers behind his back about how similar he was to Uchiha Obito, and everyone knew how that had turned out, he never showed it.

**II.**

"Ohayo, Ita-kun!" Shisui grinned at his friend, casually swinging an arm around a thin shoulder.

Itachi flicked a glance at him beneath dark eyelashes. "Shisui-san." He greeted blandly, easily shrugging off the offending arm.

"How ya doing, little guy?" Shisui laughed and ruffled his long hair, not put off in the least by the younger boy's lack of friendliness. He was used to it by now; the whole Uchiha clan was like that, to an extent.

Itachi sighed. "Don't do that."

Shisui smirked and did it again, just to spite the boy. Itachi's reactions were always so amusing.

**III.**

"Class, we are welcoming a new student today." The academy teacher said, shushing the rowdy kids.

A boy with dark hair, dark eyes, and a fan on the back of his shirt sauntered into the room confidently, radiating superiority and dominance.

Instantly 90% of the class knew who he was even before he opened his mouth and said, "My name is Uchiha Shisui. It is a pleasure to meet everyone." He bowed, every inch a member of a prestigious, powerful clan.

Girls swooned and boys scowled.

The teacher directed Shisui to his seat and sat down on his own chair. A loud farting sound echoed through the suddenly silent room. The teacher froze and started to blush.

The silence was broken by composed, polite Shisui who broke out laughing, pointing at the teacher, and slapping his hands against his thighs. "Hahahahaha! He fell for it! He fell for it!" He rolled off his seat in his merriment.

The class sweatdropped. 'Is he really an Uchiha…?!"

The teacher went purple, an impressive feat really. "Uchiha Shisui! Detention!"

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><p><em>Next time:<em>

_"Itachi, this is Maika-chan. She's Kushina-chan's little sister. Maika-chan, this is Itachi. He is my son."_

_The two children stared at each other in silence._

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><p><strong>Review! And thnxs to my beta, ChaosEmperorNex!<strong>

**Question: What does jasper mean?**


	2. Meeting

**Me: I do not own Naruto!**

**Itachi: Of course you don't.**

**Me:...I didn't ask you!**

**Maika: *sigh* Please check out Author-chan's blog. It is posted on her profile.**

**Me: Enjoy~**

**To'M'LKuran: Thank you, thank you, thank you for being the first to review!**

**VampireSiren: Why, thank you. :D**

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><p><em>Like draws like.<em>

**I.**

"Mikoto-chan!" Kushina called, a wide smile spreading across her face. She rushed forward, enveloping her long-time best friend in a hug.

Mikoto beamed, hugging back. "Kushina-chan!"

Kushina pulled back first, frowning playfully at the dark-haired kunoichi. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you for weeks, -ttebane!"

Mikoto laughed kindly. "Ah. I've been busy with clan politics. Sorry."

Kushina sighed dramatically, but 'forgave' her best friend. Turning, she spotted the young girl standing quietly a space behind her and gestured for her to come forward.

The Red-Hot Habanero placed a hand on her lower back and turned back to Mikoto with a proud smile. "This is Uzumaki Maika, -ttebane! She's my new sister!"

Mikoto quickly took in the young child that was younger than even her own son.

Maika was a lovely young girl, would no doubt become as beautiful as Kushina given time and age. Her hair was much, much darker than her older sister's, but just as startling…just as distinctive. Her eyes were a mesmerizing deep magenta in the shadows of the trees, but Mikoto imagined that in the sunlight, they would be a stunning shade of light rose pink.

Yes, Maika would most certainly grow up to be a gorgeous girl. But something made the Uchiha Matriarch hesitate and take a second glance. There was a weight to the child's gaze, a melancholy in her demeanor that was unusual…and familiar.

With an inward start, the sharingan user realized this child reminded her of Itachi, her baby boy that had seen war at only age four.

She knelt down gracefully in front of Maika, smiling warmly. "Hello, Maika-chan. My name is Uchiha Mikoto."

Maika bowed her head respectfully. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mikoto-san."

"Mikoto-chan has a little boy, Maika-chan." Kushina told her little sister with a hopeful grin. "He's about your age. Why don't you two go play while me and Mikoto-chan talk?"

Maika frowned a bit, eyes darkening.

The Red-Hot Habanero gave Mikoto a pleading look.

Ignoring her, Mikoto looked serenely into Maika's eyes. "His name is Itachi, Maika-chan. Would you like to meet him?"

Maika hesitated, glancing up at Kushina's puppy dog eyes. It was obvious that she had no true desire to meet the boy, but it was equally as obvious she didn't want to disappoint her sister. Finally, she gave in with a soft sigh. "Alright."

Mikoto smiled and gently took Maika's hand. Leading her into the large house, she called out, "Itachi!"

A moment later, in a platter of soft footsteps that Mikoto knew full well her son could disguise with scary skill, Itachi appeared through a doorway, face curious. His eyes immediately latched on to the stranger, but he addressed his mother.

"Okaa-san?" He asked.

Mikoto beckoned Itachi forward and, with a small frown, he walked up to face them both.

"Itachi, this is Maika-chan. She's Kushina-chan's little sister. Maika-chan, this is Itachi. He is my son."

The two children stared at each other in silence.

Mikoto and, a recently arrived, Kushina watched them nervously. Both of them were traumatized, Maika from the destruction of her village and Itachi from the darkness of war, stubborn, and in their own way, temperamental.

The standoff went on for several quiet, tension-filled moments, neither willing to back down.

Slowly, something changed. A subtle change, minute and minor.

Itachi's eyes softened ever so slightly and Maika's distant mask faltered a bit.

He held out a hand, the two women held their breaths, and after a pause, Maika took it with a cautious smile.

"I will show Maika-san around the compound, Okaa-san." Itachi informed Mikoto calmly and without waiting for permission, led the younger girl out of the room.

Mikoto breathed a sigh of relief and Kushina slumped against the wall.

"That went well." She ran a sweaty hand through her bright red hair.

"Quite." Mikoto swept toward the kitchen, gesturing for Kushina to take a seat. "Why did you want those to meet so badly?"

Sighing, Kushina crumpled in a chair, grabbing a sugar cookie slyly. "Maika-chan…she has difficulty talking to her peers."

"Oh?" Pouring a cup of the finished tea in an elegant cup, the dark-haired woman offered it to her friend who gratefully took it, taking a steaming hot sip without wincing.

Kushina grimaced. "She doesn't talk about it, but we – me and Minato – think that she saw practically the whole attack on Uzushiogakure."

Mikoto gasped, an elegant hand flying up to cover her mouth. "Oh, dear. The entire thing?"

The redhead nodded grimly. "We've tried to talk to her about it, but she completely shuts down at the slightest mention of it. And she's only 4 years old, -ttebane…."

"Ah." Her refined features softened. This was something she was all too familiar with. "And now she cannot connect with others of her age."

"It's why I hoped she would click with Itachi-kun." Kushina downed the tea in a shot, ignoring Mikoto's reprimanding look. "They're both mature beyond their years, -ttebane."

"I see." Mikoto murmured and that was that.

Neither of them were aware of the consequences that small sprout of friendship would inflict on the future.

**II.**

Five minutes into the 'tour', Maika stopped dead.

Almost immediately, the boy called Itachi stopped as well and looked at her with questioning eyes. Maika stared back, frustrated and confused. Why?

He broke the silence first. "Is there something wrong?"

She frowned at him. Something wrong? Of course, there was something wrong! She hadn't been able to _stand_ all the other children Kushi- Nee-san had introduced her to, so why...why did her barriers fall when she was with this boy?

"Why?" She asked.

He blinked at her. His lashes were really long, she noted. "Why what?"

That was a good question. Maika furrowed her brow. Why what, indeed. Why was he so kind to her? Most other kids bullied her when Kush- Nee-san wasn't around. Why was he so quiet? Why was he so polite?! Why was he so, so -

"Why are you different?" She asked finally.

Itachi looked at her for a long time. His eyes were really dark and Maika resisted the urge to fidget. If he thought he could intimidate her, he had another thing coming! She had faced far worse things than a boy barely older than her with a dark gaze.

When he did talk, what came out of his mouth was nothing she ever expected.

"You know the Third Shinobi War just ended, right?" He walked on over to a sofa and gestured for her to join him.

She frowned, but sat down on the sofa across his. "Of course. A few months ago, yes?"

"Yes." He paused and stared at her. Waiting, she realized.

Waiting for what? What did the Third Shinobi War have to do with why Itachi..was...different...?

_Oh._

"You saw it." Maika whispered into the silence, images of crumbling buildings and overwhelmingly large amounts blood flashing in her mind. She had seen her home end in screams and fire and she knew she would never be able to forget it. What would it be like to see an entire war?

"It was awful." Itachi said to her, looking out the window with a distant look in his eyes. "The blood...the death...the senseless violence."

"How old?"

He gave her an inscrutable look. "Four."

Oh. Just last year then; Kushina had informed her that he was only one year older than her.

And she understood. That was why he was different, why she could stand his presence. He was like her...in a way that the other children weren't.

"I've seen death too." Maika ran a hand through her hair, not sure what to do with the secret that he had given her. It didn't feel fair for her to know more about him than he did of her. She didn't understand it, but she didn't fight the impulse.

"I know." Itachi smiled at her, a small, sad smile, but a smile nonetheless.

She gazed at him, surprised. He knew? How...?

"I know." He repeated, looking back at her steadily. "You're too much like me."

Maika didn't know what to say to that. That was a bad thing, she knew. In her eyes and his.

The silence stretched between them. He watched her and she watched him. It was their introduction all over again.

She refused to give. Maika was in no state to trust, to offer. She had seen her home crumble, her friends die screaming in pain, her family give their last breaths so she could live. The attack on Uzushiogakure may have happened years ago, but to her? It was as if it had happened mere days ago. Not long enough for the pain to ease. Not nearly long enough

He was guarded, Itachi knew. But not nearly as guarded as Maika. Itachi was a smart boy and he had always sneaked around, soaking up information. He had heard his mother talk to his father about the 'Survivor' of Uzushiogakure, could put the pieces together well enough. Maika was...broken, in a way that he didn't know would ever heal.

And that was why, it was Itachi who held out his hand once again. She stared at it quietly, conflict churning in her eyes. Should she take it? Should she not?

He didn't back down. He could see himself liking Maika; she would be a good friend. Already, she had shown an impressive intelligence and a maturity far beyond her years.

Doubtless, with her association with the some of the strongest people in the village, she would grow up to be a frightening force even if she didn't have any natural talent herself - something he very much doubted. All he had to do was gain her friendship and loyalty...and Itachi knew that once he did, that allegiance would not waver.

Uzumaki Maika's devotion would never be easily earned, but her loyalty would be violent, unbreakable...if you had it.

"Friends?" Itachi asked softly.

Maika stared at the strange boy that was offering friendship to her. Was it worth it? To open her already battered, injured heart to more abuse? She knew who Itachi was: the Heir to the Uchiha Clan, one of the most powerful clans in the Hidden Villages. She had heard rumors of his genius, of the prestige he would one day bring to the clan. Of how powerful and smart he was already.

She could feel with her own senses the strength of his chakra, the absolute precision and control. His chakra was...hot and...cold. Hot and cold at the same time. Flame and water mixed. What would it be like to be friends with a boy with such raw conflicting natures? With heart and control blended?

Was he going to use her? Would he discard her the second she became useless? Could her heart stand another blow without breaking? Could Uchiha Itachi - heir, prodigy, talented, perfection - take her as she was? Shattered and mourning and exhausted with life at the age of four?

She looked into his eyes and _believed _for the first time since she had woken up in a stale hospital, surrounded by a distant cousin turned beautiful woman, a blonde man with an infectious smile, and a nurse that shed the tears that she hadn't been able to for years with such ease.

"Friends." Maika agreed, sliding her hand into his.

They smiled at each other, warm and soft and trusting.

And if it was just a tad innocent and shy, well. They were only children after all. Mature children, bloodstained children, traumatized children but children none the less.

**III.**

"What are you reading?" Maika asked two weeks later.

The two children were in the sizable Uchiha library, Kushina and Mikoto only a room away. Itachi had been studying a scroll when she had walked in and apart from a quick greeting, he hadn't paid any attention to the redheaded girl otherwise. Not in the least offended, she had pulled herself on to a near by table and had spent the past 15 minutes simply watching her new friend, legs swinging casually.

Both Kushina and Mikoto had been ecstatic - Mikoto had been much more subtle - when the two of them had revealed they were now friends. As a result, Kushina had been dragging Maika to the Uchiha Estate every two days, making up some excuse each time, and then pushed the two children into playing with each other. Mikoto had also decided that Itachi needed some time at the park...when Kushina and Maika happened to be there...at the same spot and the same time.

Maika and Itachi didn't really mind too much; they found each others company enjoyable. It was, however, mildly aggravating.

Itachi glanced up now, dark eyes disconcerting to anyone else. She simply looked back at him calmly. He smiled a bit at her. He liked that she wasn't intimidated by him, never really seemed to be scared of him. Most other kids became a mess if they were at the receiving end of a death glare. Maika just gave him one right back.

"The history of Kirigakure." He told her.

Her legs stopped their up and down motion and Maika blinked at him. He knew her well enough to interpret that as a surprise.

A moment later, she slid smoothly off the table, landing on her feet with ease. She crossed the room softly and gently heaved herself up to sit on his sofa's armrest, peering over his shoulder at the scroll. "The history of Kirigakure?"

"Hn. They have a very bloody history." He told her, running his fingers through her dark red hair absently.

"...do you do this a lot?" She questioned, not moving away from his touch. It felt good to have skin to skin contact...it reminded her that she existed, was _alive _and not in that cruel state of dream and reality that she had been for years.

"What? Read?" Itachi turned his head to quirk an amused eyebrow at her. "I thought everyone knew how to read, Maika-hime."

She made a half annoyed, half embarrassed sound and made a move to lightly swat the back of his head. A few days ago, he had decided to stop calling her the honorific '-san' and address her as the younger sister of Uzumaki Kushina and thus, a Princess of Whirlpool. Hence the '- hime'.

Maika had been horribly flustered when he had first called her that, turning nearly as red as her hair. It hadn't helped that both Mikoto and Kushina found the whole thing hilarious and adorable. Itachi had taken one look at her face and decided that her reaction was amusing enough that he would continue to call her by the honorific. She had not been happy... to say the least.

He dodged her hand easily, chuckling lowly. "Alright, alright." Itachi raised his hands at her glare, lips twitching upward. "Yes, I do spend a lot of time studying history. It's important."

She huffed, but calmed down, considering that little tidbit of information. Seeing her lost in thought, he turned back to the scroll, leaving her to think things out.

Ten minutes passed in silence. It was a comforting silence, both occupants at ease with the quiet.

It was broken by Maika. "Itachi-kun?"

He looked up at her, sensing a shift in his friend's emotional state. Itachi had always been a very perceptive individual and after spending hours upon hours with the rose-eyed girl, he had gotten to know her quite well. "Yes?"

She looked into his eyes, a slight frown on her lips, and a vulnerability in her eyes that had him instantly on edge. "Will you teach me?"

Itachi blinked, brain rapidly delving into the deceptively simple question.

First, was the obvious, 'teach what?' He ran through their previous conversation and quickly came to the conclusion she wanted him to teach her history. He knew full well that Maika could read perfectly fine.

Then, there was the, 'why?' He found that answer rather easily too. She had been placed in suspension for years. Of course she would want to know as much about the world as she could.

Finally,'why him?' Because he was her first friend, her only friend, the one she felt comfortable enough with the show even a fraction of vulnerability.

He felt a ridiculous amount of satisfaction upon that realization. All this went through his mind in the span of several seconds and Itachi looked closely at Maika, noting the wariness in the way her mouth was set and in the stiffness of her shoulders. If he said the wrong thing now, he would undo every drop of trust he had managed to earn.

"History?" He clarified.

She bit her lip, nodding hesitantly.

Itachi smiled at her warmly. "What do you want to start with?"

Maika breathed a sigh of relief, her body relaxing. Privately, he thought she was rather cute when she was nervous. Best not to tell her that though.

**IV.**

Four hours later, Mikoto silently opened the door and peaked her head in. Her eyes widened and she couldn't help but smile at the scene that greeted her.

Itachi and Maika were both curled up on a one person sofa. Well, Itachi was sitting on the sofa, short legs still dangling, and Maika was curled up on top of him: head resting against his neck, hand on the opposite shoulder, and body snuggled up against his. Both of them were still awake despite the late hour and Itachi was slowly stroking the younger girl's long hair while murmuring in her ear.

Neither of them noticed Mikoto; she was a jounin for a reason.

Discreetly, the young mother sent a trickle of chakra to her ears to enhance her hearing.

"...was the Kannabi Bridge that turned the war in our favor." Itachi was saying to Maika.

"That was in Kusagakure, right?" Maika asked, voice soft as she was talking right into the young boy's ear.

"Yes. It was a vital passage to Iwagakure's line of supply..."

Still smiling, Mikoto cut off the flow of chakra and quietly left. No need to disrupt the children, especially when they were getting along so well. She made a note to talk about marriage arrangements with Kushina later. Her best friend would probably be thrilled.

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><p><strong>Review! Ah and check out my blog.<strong>

**Question: How do you think Maika felt while she was under suspension?  
><strong>


	3. Alive

**Me: I do not own Naruto!**

**Itachi: Who's he?**

**Me: Um...nevermind that. Merry Christmas!**

**VampireSiren: They're adorable, aren't they? :D**

**To'M'L Kuran: Too kawaii! Hmm, you might be on to something...**

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><p><em>That which does not kill us, make us stronger.<em>

**I.**

Maika was a sensor. A very powerful one at that.

Kushina had told her that, one day, she would most likely be one of the most powerful sensor nins in the world.

She believed her sister. Kushina had never lied to her before.

Everyone's chakra was different...unique. She could feel them from lengthy distances and a long time ago, back in Uzushiogakure, she had been told that that was what made her a sensor nin. Maika hadn't really understood that as child, couldn't everyone do the same?

But they couldn't.

Ever since she was a child, Maika had known her precious people's 'feel' or chakra signature as she later learned it was called. Now was no different, except her range had grown ever larger. It was sometimes disconcerting how far she could stretch, but she did her best to not think of that.

She knew other sensors could 'feel' multiple layers to a ninja's chakra, but she was hardly that advanced. No, she only felt a single layer of chakra and that was almost enough to devastate her occasionally.

Her sister, Kushina, was easy. Nee-san's chakra reflected her nature: fiery, strong and passionate. Kushina's chakra frequently surrounded her like a shroud when she was upset or angry, but most of the time, it hung around her, warming the people around her like Kushina did with her generous personality. Maika liked it, even if it felt a little overwhelming at times.

Minato was easy too. His chakra was warm and sunny, but with a razor edging that could cut without warning. His was more contained than his wife, but always churning in his body. Moving around. Minato's chakra never stayed still; rather like wind, she supposed. It was also so very _powerful. _The most powerful chakra she had ever felt.

Maika found her brother-in-law's chakra reassuring and encouraging, but she couldn't help but be afraid of that sharp boundary that was a constant reminder of how very dangerous the Yellow Flash could be.

Itachi, the boy who was quickly becoming her best friend, had a strange sort of chakra. It simmered under his skin when he was angry, but never exploded, never ripped. No, his chakra was fluid, flexible...but still soothingly warm. Fire and water, mixed. His chakra didn't attack, didn't overwhelm, didn't hurt...didn't hurt her, at least.

Itachi's chakra kept close to him, she wasn't sure if he did it consciously or not, but it suited the boy's quiet, private nature. It was always controlled, always protective. Sometimes, when she cuddled close to him, his chakra would roll out and settle over her like a comforting, calm-inducing, warm blanket. Maika liked his chakra the most.

There were others too, of course, but she wasn't nearly as intimate with them as she was with Kushina and Minato and Itachi. Sometimes, she wondered what other sensors could tell from her own chakra.

When she was feeling particularly depressed, Maika wondered if they could feel the darkness and silence that haunted her in her dreams.

**II.**

"You're not living." Itachi told her three months after she had first met him.

Maika looked up at him, startled. "What?"

He frowned at her, eyes concerned. "You're not living, Maika-hime. You're only existing."

She furrowed her brow, her heart starting to speed up. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Maika resisted the urge to run away. Itachi was a reliable friend, a safe pillar for her to go to. She trusted his advice, listened when he talked. He was unobtrusive, muted. There were no expectations or burdens between them and she cherished that. But now, it seemed like he was ready to change things.

"Yes, you do." His coal black eyes were relentless. Maika didn't even know she was backing up until he reached out to gently hold her still by the waist. "You won't play, won't read. You pick the blandest clothes to buy and you refuse to listen to music. You don't talk to anyone you don't have to and you spend your time in the darkest room you can find. You don't laugh or smile."

He had noticed it within the third week of meeting her, but always brushed it aside. At first, it had been because he honestly did not care. As time went on and he found himself caring more and more about the petite red-head, it began to bother him. He wanted her to smile and enjoy the life that had been given to her and he dearly wanted to know what she looked like when she was truly _happy_.

Maika wrenched away from him, eyes wide and frightened. What right did he have to say those things to her? He didn't understand, no one did! They all acted sympathetic, but they didn't understand.

"I do so laugh and smile." She claimed, voice rough and hands starting to shake despite herself. She stared at her shaking hands and felt anger start to overpower her fear. Why was it that he could make her react like this? She didn't want to tear open that barely scabbed over wound...why couldn't he just leave it alone?!

To her irritation, Itachi didn't even have the decency to look mad at her. Rather, his eyes were soft and sad. Irrationally, this only made her more angry.

"Answer me!" She demanded, moving forward and pushing him in the chest. He rocked back slightly, but this didn't appease her ire at all.

"You sometimes laugh and smile." Itachi said at last and she smiled in satisfaction. A second later, that smile dropped as he continued. "But it's...not genuine. You aren't truly happy."

It was the last sentence that did it for her. She let out a soft cry of distress and flung herself at him, hitting him over and over in the chest. Because of her position, her blows had little effect on him and really, she wasn't even trying very hard to hurt him. Itachi didn't bother trying to stop her; he simply let her do as she wished.

"Happy?! Happy?! Why am I supposed to be happy?!" She raged between blows. "Everyone I knew and loved is dead! Have been dead for years!" Her voice choked off for a moment, raw and drenched in pain.

Itachi's eyes darkened, but he maintained his silence.

"They died! They died around me and my village fell and I couldn't do a thing about it!" She screamed at him and Itachi couldn't help but realize that she had no idea she was even crying. Her tears fell on his face, warm and salty, but he didn't wipe them away. "Why would I be, how can I be happy when everyone else is dead?! Why am I even alive when they're all _dead_?!"

Maika collapsed on his chest, sobbing openly. Her anguish tore at him, made his heart ache. Jaw tight, Itachi quietly wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him. He had known since he had first met her that Maika was broken in subtle ways, but he had never expected this. He had never expected her sorrow to hurt _him_.

Eventually, her sobs turned to silent tears and then to heartbreaking silence. Itachi rubbed soothingly circles on her back and didn't say a word. There were times to push and times to wait. Before, he had to push. Now, he had to wait.

"The suspension...that my parents placed me in..." Maika found herself whispering into the quiet without a conscious decision to do so. "It saved my life...but it was also the worst torture I could ever imagine."

The hand on her back stilled for but a moment, but it was enough to tell her that he was listening to her closely. It proceeded to resume the comforting contact and she clung to it desperately, somehow found the strength to go on.

"I laid there, unable to move at all. But I was still _aware _if only in a dream-like state. I still knew that my family and friends were dead. I still knew that I was lying underneath their graves and the remains of my home." She clenched her eyes shut and turned to bury her face in his chest as the bitter memories threatened to swamp her. "I couldn't see anything, hear anything but darkness and silence. I was completely alone...there was no one else."

Itachi's arms tightened around her and she knew that he was starting to see, to understand just what those years had done to her.

"Itachi-kun." Maika let out a short bitter laugh. "For me...years, years passed without human interaction and sensory contact. I almost went insane down there."

**III.**

"Barrier seals?" Makai questioned softly a week later.

"Yup, -ttebane!" Kushina replied cheerfully, dipping her brush in some more ink.

"They are for the gates of Konoha." Minato grinned warmly at her, his brush drawing intricate designs on the left side of the paper.

The three of them are in their apartment, Kushina and Minato kneeling on the ground in front of a truly massive piece of paper, buckets of ink around them. Maika stood next to them, watching them draw the seal with fascination.

"I thought the gates already have barrier seals." Maika observed the graceful movements of the soon to be Yondaime and thought of a time long past when she sat with her mother, practicing kanji in preparation for fuinjutsu.

Uzushiogakure had been the specialist at the art, after all.

"They do." Minato confirmed, frowning as he inspected a particular section of the half-finished seal. "But we do need to renew them every so often."

"And upgrade them, -ttebane!" Ksuhina declared, smiling in satisfaction at her now-finished section. Glancing at Minato, she eyed him considerately.

Minato noticed with an uneasy look on his face. "Now, now, Kushina-chan..." He was too late, as usual.

She smirked mischievously and lunged across the space between them to draw a jagged line of black ink on his face.

The blonde gaped at her and she burst out laughing at his look of horror.

Minato narrowed his eyes as tears started to gather in his wife's eyes. A twinkle of playfulness lit up his cerulean blue eyes and he lifted his own brush.

"Ack! Minato-kun!" Kushina gasped when he flicked black ink on her dress. She narrowed her own eyes at him. "This is war!"

Maika could only giggle as she watched her adoptive sister and brother-in-law run around the room, flinging ink at themselves and everything - everything but the seal, she noted. To the sounds of her sister's cursing mixed in with laughter and her brother's taunts and teasing, she turned her attention back to the half-finished seal.

Her eyes ran along the curves and swirls. Flashes of memories whispered in her mind, reminding the young girl of the last time she had seen such an intricate seal.

_"It'll be okay, my darling girl." Her mother kissed her on her forehead and pushed her towards the circle. "Go, go!"_

_Seals - intricate, detailed, complicated seals - flared around her and she fell into the darkness, but not before she felt her mother' and father's chakra finally flicker out._

She was an Uzumaki. One of the last in the world. Seals were what had saved her...and seals were what had doomed her to years spent in paralysis, aware of the outside world, but unable to move. She had been alone for so long, trapped in the darkness without sound or color or sensation. She hadn't lied to Itachi. For so long, she had honestly believed that she was insane...that the world she was trapped in was actually hell.

But...seals were her _birthright_. If she didn't learn them, didn't carry on the Uzumaki legacy, what would happen to her clan? Would they just be forgotten, lost to the sands of time?

No. Not her loving mother, her strong father, her sweet but naive friends. She couldn't do that to them. Couldn't dishonor them like that. They had given her life...and she couldn't waste it like she had been doing.

"Nee-san, Nii-san." Maika said, cutting through the laughter and light in the room.

Kushina froze in the act of trying to draw a smiley face on Minato's forehead and Minato paused in trying to write his name on Kushina's dress. They sprung apart, smiling nervously like kids whose hands had been caught in the cookie jar.

"Yeah, Maika-chan?" Kushina smiled at her, vivid and alive.

Maika smiled back. Maybe it was time for her to start living as well. "I want to learn. Teach me fuinjutsu."

Kushina and Minato traded looks. They looked back at her with wide grins and sparkling eyes.

"I thought you'd never ask." Kushina said.

**IV.**

A few weeks later, Maika whirled around in a bright clearing, her pretty yellow dress fluttering around her and her long red hair whipping around in her face. She breathed in the early spring air and slowly chewed the pocky in her mouth. She stopped spinning to stand in the very center of the meadow, face turned towards the sunlight.

Itachi watched her, sitting quietly on the very edge of the clearing. He absently slid another piece of pocky from the box in his hands and chewed on it, eyes never wavering from his best friend. He had been right, he thought as Maika smiled up into the sunlight. It had absolutely been worth everything to see her smile when she was utterly happy.

Maika's smile, her true smile, was warm and beautiful, practically the living embodiment of the sunlight she now basked in so often. She looked radiant, standing there in the early morning light, a glowing young girl capable of becoming a legend the world had never known.

As if aware of his eyes on her, she turned around to direct that smile at him. He smiled back, because it was nearly impossible to do otherwise. His body hummed in response to her joy, his mind at peace. Yes, everything had been worth it, just for a smile like that.

And then he took out a piece of pocky and silently offered it to her.

Maika's laughter rang through the air, bright and sunny and all too addictive. Itachi found himself laughing along with her even as she skipped over to close her mouth over the offered pocky.

It wouldn't last, he knew. While her progress in a few measly days had been incredible, trauma like his best friend's was forever. She might relapse or falter on her way to recovery. That was okay.

He would never let her fall back into the darkness alone.

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><p><em>Next:<em>

_The Uchiha that was Itachi's other best friend was affectionate and cheerful, the complete opposite of most Uchiha she knew._

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><p><strong>Aww...<strong>

**They're so cute. *squeals***

**Ahem. Merry Christmas!**

**Question: Aren't they just adorable?**


	4. Coronation

**Me: I do not own Naruto!**

**Maika: Err...who's that?**

**Me: *laughs nervously* No one, no one! Check out my blog everyone! **

***Author-chan quickly runs away***

**Maika: ...what just happened?**

**Itachi: Happy New Year.**

**Guest: Right! But...isn't Obito already...sorta dead/ missing by this point? Thanks for the review, hun!**

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><p><em>Life goes on. - Andy Nguyen<em>

**I.**

"Like this?" Maika asked, leaning back after finishing her first seal.

Things had been going well. Both Kushina and Minato had started training her in fuinjutsu. Mostly beginner stuff, limiters and restraints. Kushina had started to train her in taijutsu and her sensing abilities. Minato had been busy - his coronation was coming up - but he had been feeding her small tidbits on tactics and stealth.

Kushina looked over the seal while Maika tried not to fidget. She knew her sister wouldn't belittle her or be disappointed if she had gotten some part wrong, but she still wanted to succeed. It had been a whole year since she had woken up from her forced suspension and she had grown deeply attached to her older sister and brother-in-law.

"It's perfect, -ttebane!" Kushina declared with a wide smile. Without warning, she turned and engulfed the younger girl in a bear hug. "Ahh! I'm so proud of you, -ttebane!"

Maika stiffened slightly at the unexpected affection, but eventually relaxed and returned the hug. "Thanks, Nee-chan."

Kushina pulled back and tugged her onto her feet. "Now, come on!"

She blinked. "Where are we going?"

The Red Hot Habanero looked at her as if she had lost her mind. "To celebrate, -ttebane!"

Maika's smile was bemused, but she went along with Kushina. "Where to?"

"Ichiraku Ramen, of course."

She breathed out a sigh as Kushina continued to drag her down the streets. She liked ramen well enough, but the extent Kushina adored it was ridiculous. Then, there was Minato. Sometimes, she thought the couple had fallen in love purely over their shared love of ramen.

**II.**

"Maika-chan, -ttebane!" Kushina slammed the door to the apartment open, face glowing and Minato right behind her.

Maika looked up from reading the scroll to beginner fuinjutsu. "Yes, Nee-san?" She observed her sister and brother-in-law with interest. They seemed to be ecstatic over something if the wide smiles on their faces were any indication.

"I'm pregnant, -ttebane!" She announced loudly, beaming at her.

Maika blinked. Tried to wrap her head around that. "...pregnant?"

"Yup, -ttebane!" Kushina swept into the room and wrapped Maika in a hug. "Isn't it exciting? You're going to have a nephew soon!"

"It could also be a niece, too." Minato pointed out, wrapping his arms around his wife and his sister.

"Nope! It's a boy, I know it, -ttebane!" Kushina maintaned, tightening her grip on poor Maika.

"Whatever you say, Kushina-chan." Minato smiled indulgently and shook his head at his stubborn wife who stuck her tongue out at him.

Meanwhile, Maika had finally processed the bombshell her sister had dropped on her. "Nee-san! Congratulations!" She smiled happily at her sister, finally hugging her back.

Kushina grinned and hugged her back. "We'll make sure he's loved and protected. All of us."

"Yes." Maika vowed. "Yes, we will."

'Yes, I will.' She repeated silently in her mind.

Later, Itachi told her that his mother was pregnant as well. He was almost as excited as she was.

Neither of them knew how this would end. And perhaps it was better that way, for if they knew, they might have decided to kill themselves right then and there.

**III.**

A week after she had found out about Kushina's pregnancy, Maika met Hatake Kakashi.

Well...met wasn't quite the right word.

"So, it's tiger, boar, ox, dog, and snake?" Maika formed her fingers into each hand seal as she listed them.

"That's right!" Minato grinned at her and ruffled her hair affectionately. "You're making good progress, Maika-chan! You'll be able to do the Body Replacement Jutsu in no time!"

She smiled back. It was hard not to like Minato; he was so cheerful and warm. "You're too kind, Nii-san."

His grin widened, as it always did when she called him 'brother'. Minato opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, the door burst open.

A teenager with shocking white hair and dressed in ninja clothing rushed in. "Minato-sensei!"

The Yellow Flash glanced up, looking innocent as could be. "Yes, Kakashi?"

Kakashi glared at his sensei. "How could you not tell me Kushina-san's pregnant?"

Minato blinked slowly. "Oh. Sorry. It must have slipped my mind."

The teenager with the dark mask over his face fumed.

"I know you." Maika said suddenly. As they had been talking, she had been analyzing the stranger's chakra, as Kushina had been teaching her, and she had found, to her surprise, that it was familiar. Yet, she was sure she had never seen her brother-in-law's student, as she had concluded he had to be.

Kakashi stiffened and spun around to face her, his one visible eye widening. Evidently, he had been so focused on getting to his sensei that he had completely failed to notice the dark red-haired girl sitting quietly on a stool near the table.

She looked at him, her rouge eyes unknowingly startling. "You watched over me once. When I had only just woke up." It was the only explanation she could think of. When she had first woken up from the suspension, she had been aware of the teams of Anbu that followed her around; she had simply been too much in shock to care. But Maika didn't forget chakra signatures.

"I - u-umm..." Kakashi stuttered, looking to Minato for help. Her brother merely looked amused.

She frowned slightly. What had she said? Going over her statements, she realized the problem. The shinobi that had followed her around had been Anbu. And Anbu were not supposed to be identifiable, much less recognizable.

So, Maika smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Hatake Kakashi. I'm Uzumaki Maika."

And that was how her first meeting with her sensei's one surviving student went.

She saw him from time to time after that encounter. After all, Minato had a close bond with Kakashi and Kushina loved to boss the white-haired boy around; Maika spent a lot of time with her sister and brother-in-law.

They didn't talk much, but she found she liked the older boy. He didn't push and in some ways, he reminded her of Itachi. Burdened by death, doomed by genius, and startling kind after you got past the prickly armor.

Maika wouldn't know, but she hoped he liked her as well. He certainly treated her like a younger cousin, albeit one he didn't see often.

**IV.**

The first time Maika met the Sandaime was a few hours before Minato's orientation.

Oh, she was sure he had seen her before. Perhaps when she had been unconscious or maybe from afar.

But she had never seen him before, probably due to Kushina and to some extent, Minato. The first half year after she had woken up, had been a transition period. She had had to get used to Konoha and her people. To adjust to life outside her relatively sheltered world in Uzushiogakure. The shelter it had been before it was destroyed in a storm of fire and blood.

The second half of her year had been spent trying to recover from the emotional trauma of spending years underground, immobile and conscious for all that time. Needless to say, both of her older siblings had been rather protective of her and had most likely shielded her from things that might have upset her.

Like the Hokage that, through no fault of his own, had been in charge when her village and Konoha's number one ally burned to the ground.

"Hello, Maika-chan." The Sandaime smiled down at her, all warmth and grandfatherly kindness.

She wasn't fooled. Maybe the old shinobi sincerely cared for her as his successor's little sister, but she could feel his chakra. Even in his old age, it was vast, dense, and powerful. Extremely powerful. Sarutobi Hiruzen, God of Shinobi, wasn't weak nor feeble, no matter how much he deliberately gave off that impression.

"Sandaime-sama." Maika greeted, bowing in respect.

He chuckled and gently ruffled her hair. "You are a good girl."

She smiled at him, but it was guarded. Maika did not trust anyone who had not earned her trust. "Thank you, Sandaime-sama."

"You will be at Minato's coronation?" The Third Hokage asked.

"Yes." She replied simply.

He nodded, eyes wise. "He is a great man, my successor. I hope he has a long, peaceful time as Yondaime."

"You and me both, Sandaime-sama." Maika said softly.

**V.**

Minato's coronation had been a large, impressive affair.

The weather had cooperated with clear blue skies and warm sunlight. Upon reciting his vows to protect the village, Maika's brother-in-law had been an impressive figure standing at the railing, coat blowing in the breeze, and Hokage hat on top of his distinctive yellow spiky hair.

Maika first met Jiraiya a few hours after the coronation.

Minato had told her that his sensei had looked over the suspension seals and visited her once while she was unconscious, but as the primary spymaster of Konoha, had just been too busy to come back to see her again.

The white-haired Sannin made his presence known by jumping in through the window to Minato's new office while the Yondaime had been smiling and joking with Kushina and Maika.

"Sensei!" Minato exclaimed, rising to his feet. "You're back?!"

Jiraiya snorted. "As if I would miss my own student's coronation day!"

"I don't know, sensei. I would have thought you'd be at the hot springs right now." Minato said dryly, walking around his desk.

"Well.." Jiraiya rubbed his chin. "Now that you mention it..."

Minato laughed and shook his head. "You never change, Jiraiya-sensei."

The older man grinned and hugged his student quickly. "Congratulations, Minato."

The Yellow Flash smiled fiercely and hugged him back just as hard. "Thanks, sensei."

Pulling back, Jiraiya turned to focus on Minato's wife and younger sister.

"Kushina-chan!" He beamed and walked closer for a hug. "It's been a long time!"

"Good to see you again, Jiraiya." Kushina beamed back and hugged the Sannin...right before landing a vicious punch right on his head.

Jirayia grunted, slamming headfirst into the ground while Kushina stood before him, fist held in front of her, and eyes glowing eerily.

"No groping, - ttebane." She decreed firmly.

"Jiraiya-sensei..." Minato sighed.

He laughed, getting to his feet. "Sorry bout that. Habit, you know." Jirayia smiled nervously.

Kushina gave him a thoroughly unimpressed look.

The Sannin chuckled apprehensively and quickly turned his attention to the silent young girl that had been watching the scene with interest. "You're Maika-chan, right? I'm Jiraiya."

Maika stared at him with wide, inquisitive eyes. "Nee-san says you're a pervert." She said bluntly.

Minato choked on air and Kushina flushed bright red.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow and glanced back at Kushina. "Really?" He asked seriously.

Maika nodded solemnly.

The man sighed and shook his head. "Well then, I'm sorry to tell you this Maika-chan, but your Nee-san is wrong."

She tilted her head in question. "So you aren't a pervert?"

"No, I'm not." Jiraiya paused gravely and abruptly struck a dramatic pose. "I'm not just a pervert, I'M A SUPER PERVERT!"

Outraged, Kushina flew across the room and decked the self-proclaimed 'Super Pervert'. "Don't go around corrupting my sister, -ttebane!"

Minato groaned and covered his face with his hand. Why did his sensei always do stuff like this?

Lying on the floor, a large bump on his head, Jiraiya weakly raised a hand and gave Kushina a thumbs up. "G-good one, Kushina-chan."

To nobody's surprise, this only made the kunoichi angrier and she started beating up the Sannin.

To everyone's surprise, serious, mature Maika burst out laughing.

Minato lifted his head up, Kushina stopped beating Jiraiya into the floor, and Jiraiya weakly glanced up. All three stared at the bent over little girl.

"Maika-chan?" Kushina asked cautiously.

She fought off her laughter long enough to gasp out, "You guys are just too funny."

Startled, Kushina glanced at Minato who shrugged back at her. Grinning a bit, the Red Hot Habanero decided that it didn't matter what her sister thought was so funny. It was a joy to see Maika happy, that was all.

"U-uh, Kushina-chan?" Jiraiya muttered from beneath her foot. "Could you get off me now?"

"Never!" She declared and for good measure, stomped him on his back firmly.

**VI.**

Maika found that she liked Jiraiya after he got over his perverted antics. He was amusing and kind beneath his eccentric demeanor, and a very good teacher.

With the brief time he had in Konoha, he quickly sped up her knowledge in seals.

It was under Jiraiya's tutelage that she made her first explosive seal.

She was sad to see him leave.

**VII.**

"What's wrong?" Maika demanded as soon as she saw her best friend at their meadow. His chakra was shifting under his skin, swirling around in agitation, and she could sense it with ease.

He plucked at some grass, avoiding her eyes. "Nothing."

She narrowed her eyes and walked over to settle on her knees gracefully. Reaching out, she gently grabbed Itachi's jaw and turned his head until she could see his eyes. Maika frowned. Although he still avoided her gaze, his usually calm black eyes were turbulent with emotions today.

Oh yes. Something was wrong.

Pursing her lips, she briefly thought about trying to get the stubborn boy to admit it through force, but quickly gave up on that thought. Itachi tended to become a brick wall when pushed on matters he didn't want to talk about. Jabbing and nagging wasn't going to get her the answers she wanted.

So, Maika sighed and fell back onto the soft grass, bringing Itachi with her. She ended up sprawled over him, head on his chest and hand on his shoulder. He accommodated her without complaint, slinging an arm over her waist. The sun shone over the treetops, bathing them in warmth and light.

"Nee-san's started to teach me the Uzumaki style of taijutsu." She told him, voice idle as if she had completely forgotten her earlier irritation. The sun was making her really comfortable and sleepy. Didn't mean she was letting him off the hook, though.

He grunted, eyelids fluttering closed.

"It's a rather unique style, because we primarily used seals. The main purpose of it is to create openings so the user can tag their opponent with a seal. Flexible...capitalizes more on speed than strength." Maika absently traced patterns on his shoulder, yawning. "You have to actually think through most of the steps, because it changes with each opponent. Nee-san said that it'd come to me naturally, after some fights under my belt."

Itachi opened his eyes to look at her, a frown already tugging on his lips. "You aren't planning on going around picking fights, are you?"

She smiled sleepily. She didn't quite know when Itachi had become so protective of her, but she didn't mind. "No. Nee-san, Nii-san, and you are more than enough."

He chuckled under his breath and she sighed, tucking her head in under his jaw. They laid there in silence for a few moments, basking in the heat and peace.

"Itachi-kun." Maika ordered in their safe haven, feeling comforted and petted.

He sighed, but gave in at long last. Her assault on his defenses had been subtle and unpredictable, affection instead of pressure, kindness instead of anger. The casual discussion and pleasant warmth had weakened his walls and Itachi had known full well that they stood no chance against the stubbornness of the Uzumaki princess.

"The clan." He said and, all on its own, that was an answer. But she would never simply accept that. "They are insisting I spend some time with the brides they wish me to choose from."

She hummed in response, the faintest tug pulling at her heart. She ignored it, hugging Itachi close. "It'll be okay." Maika whispered.

Against common sense and logic, he believed her.

**VIII.**

"How's the Academy?" Maika asked Itachi one day, after a rather harsh training session, lying on the grass next to him.

They had been going with taijutsu and he had won after a grueling five minute fight. Itachi was much more gifted than her in that aspect, but she had the advantage of using Uzumaki style taijutsu, even if it was beginner level. Itachi was using a mixture of Uchiha style and Academy style, so he was unfamiliar with her way of attacking. It didn't stop him from winning, but it was a close thing.

He hummed, pushing himself up a bit to look at her. "Boring. The other kids are really slow."

"Really? Nee-san's enrolling me soon." Maika yawned, stretching languidly.

Itachi hnned and gently ran his fingers through her hair, taking in her scent; sweet jasmine and golden peach. It was a quiet, peaceful time.

Until someone interrupted them.

"Ita-kun! You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend!" A male voice cut across the clearing and Maika reflexively sat up, body tensing. She hadn't been paying attention, hadn't felt the relatively weak chakra signature in the trees.

Itachi frowned, but patted her neck twice. A reassurance. He knew this person. It was safe.

She frowned too, but relaxed. She trusted his judgment.

A boy around the age of seven dropped down from some branches, grinning cheerfully. He had dark, unkempt hair and black Uchiha eyes.

He walked up to them, eyes dancing. "Well? Introduce us, Ita-kun!"

Maika found it interesting that while Itachi's brow furrowed at the nickname, he didn't try and correct the older boy. They were familiar with each other, it seemed.

"Maika-hime, this is Uchiha Shisui, a distant cousin of mine. He's a year older than me. Shisui, this is Uzumaki Maika. She's a year younger than me." Itachi said monotonously.

Shisui chuckled under his breath. "Hime, huh?"

"She's a Princess of Whirlpool." Itachi responded, just a tad defensive. He glared at Shisui.

Shisui outright laughed and raised his hands in the universal sign for 'chill, dude'. He sat down across from them, smiling warmly at Maika. "Good to meet you, Maika-chan. It seems Ita-kun's been hiding you from me." He shot a chiding look at said boy who raised a dismissive eyebrow.

"Hello." She said simply, eyeing him warily.

Maika trusted Itachi's judgment, but only to a certain extent. She judged people herself.

Shisui ended up spending the entire afternoon with Itachi and Maika, claiming he had nothing else to do.

The Uchiha that was Itachi's other best friend was affectionate and cheerful, the complete opposite of most Uchiha she knew. Maika didn't know what to make of him, but he slipped under her defenses soon enough.

After that meeting, she saw both Itachi and Shisui often. They became her two best friends, complete opposites as they were.

Itachi was quiet, thoughtful, and serious. The genius.

Shisui was loud, cheerful, and optimistic. The anomaly.

Maika was broken, radiant, and strong. The contradiction.

It was just as well she connected so well with the two.

Because Kushina was almost ready to give birth.

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><p><em>Next time:<em>

_Maika smiled and kissed her sister and brother-in-law on the cheek. She believed them; they had never lied to her before._

_It was the last time she would ever see them again._

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><p><strong>Review! Please review! And also, check out my blog. It's on my profile. :3<strong>

**Happy New Years, all!**

**Oh dear, it seems the Kyuubi attack is coming...**


	5. Kyuubi

**Me: Naruto does not belong to me!**

**Maika: Wait. Naruto? My nephew?**

**Me: Hehehe... reviews are at the bottom, please check out my blog, and review! *quickly runs away***

**Maika: *sweatdrops* ... What was that all about?**

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><p><em>Lost time is never found again. -Benjamin Franklin<em>

**I.**

Maika was enrolled in the Academy a month before Kushina would give birth.

She found it was just as boring as Itachi had told her it was. It was pathetically easy for her to shoot to the top of the class. Her taijutsu was leagues beyond the other students; Minato had already taught her the three Academy ninjutsu, and Shisui had showed her how to dispel genjutsu a long time ago. Itachi had already taught her all that she needed to know about history and everything else was simply a joke.

She was far better than everyone else and they all knew it.

The other students were envious, but they didn't bother her. Only one was foolish enough to try and bully her at the beginning of the school year. She had ignored him, but mentioned it fleetingly in Itachi and Shisui's presence a few days later. The boys had exchanged a quiet, burning look and the next day, that boy never so much as looked at her again.

Maika politely ignored the bruises that littered his arms. When asked by the teacher, he had claimed he had tripped. Worst excuse ever, but their sensei hadn't pushed and it wasn't like everyone didn't know what had happened. It wasn't as if you could simply accuse the Heir to the Uchiha Clan and a speed-demon prodigy of the same Clan of such an act without evidence and the two were no idiots.

No one else dared to bother her after that. Maika was strong in her own right, but Itachi and Shisui were ferociously protective of her.

Perhaps other girls would have been annoyed at such unneeded intervention, but Maika didn't particularly mind. She knew that such attention was their stoic Uchiha way of showing they cared about her. And she could not begrudge them that.

The month passed fleetingly. She spent most of her time in the Academy reading scrolls on fuinjutsu and some on anatomy. The boys helpfully passed along some scrolls from the Uchiha Library and she read those, too. She spent time outside of the Academy training with Itachi and Shisui or just spending time together in the meadow that was quickly becoming theirs. Kushina continued to teach her Uzumaki taijutsu and Minato taught her seals.

Finally. It was time.

**II.**

"Things will be alright?" Maika asked anxiously.

Kushina laughed and hugged her as well as she could with her very pregnant belly. "It'll be fine, -ttebane!"

"This is all only precaution." Minato added, grinning reassuringly at her. "Nothing will go wrong."

"You'll see Naruto soon enough, -ttebane!" Kushina declared, still steadfast in her belief that her child would be a boy.

Minato chuckled and hugged his wife close.

Maika smiled and kissed her sister and brother-in-law on the cheek. She believed them; they had never lied to her before.

It was the last time she would ever see them again.

**III.**

Maika was one of the first people in the Village to know that something was wrong.

Kushina had been working with her on her sensing abilities and she had been keeping an eye on her Nee-san and her Nii-san's chakra signatures.

So when a new chakra signature - dark and violent and dangerous - entered the barrier wards, she was the first to know.

Maika tore through the Hokage's Office, well aware that the Sandaime was here as a substitute for Minato while he was off overseeing Kushina's labor; if anyone could help, it was him. She outright ignored all the guards that tried to stop her. Most knew her - she was the younger sister-in-law of their beloved Hokage, after all - and so they didn't use force and stopped those that tried.

She slammed open the door and stared, panting, at a startled Sandaime and various other people she couldn't care less about.

"Maika-chan..?" The Third Hokage questioned, rising to his feet as he took in the young girl's desperate face.

"Something's wrong, someone's there that shouldn't be. Help them!" She screamed shrilly at him, willing them to stop standing around and _move_, but it was too late and she knew it the instant she felt that evil, hatred-tainted chakra flare like a superpowered beacon against her senses.

In the distance, the Nine Tails howled to the sky in reckless joy as it was released and its malicious chakra swept through the Village, causing havoc.

Everyone in the room turned to stare out the window and Maika felt her heart crack in the dread-filled silence that fell.

She was always too late. Why? Why...?

**IV.**

The Sandaime and his forces were too busy dealing with the Kyuubi to notice when the little girl that tried to warn them disappeared.

Maika made her way to the Memorial Stone. Minato had showed it to her once. She remembered it clearly.

_"This is the Memorial Stone, Maika-chan." He placed a bundle of white flowers on it, tracing a name reverently._

_"The Memorial Stone?" She asked, taking in the somber sight curiously._

_"Yes. The names of heroes are carved onto this stone." Minato turned and grinned at her, but it wasn't his usual bright smile. This was more serious, more earnest. "Those that gave their lives for our Village... when I die, I hope my name is carved onto this stone, too."_

Maika clung to the cool stone, her red hair flying everywhere in the harsh wind the Kyuubi was conjuring up. The King of the Tailed Beasts caused chaos with mocking ease, sweeps of its tails destroying the fragile homes of Konohagakure, obliterating all of the elite ninja that tried to halt its progress without concern.

She stared blankly as her Village burned and thousands died. Screams filled the air, blood and fire and ash. It was as if the past few years of her life had never happened and she was watching her home crumble around her as a four year old child, yet again.

Uzumaki Maika knew the exact second her sister and brother-in-law died and left her alone once again.

Alone in the darkness, buried under the ruins of her Village while corpses sprayed with red, red blood shrieked silently all around her, she felt her heart shatter.

**V.**

Five hours later, the Kyuubi was sealed into an infant named Uzumaki Naruto. Itachi and Shisui found Maika kneeling in front of the Memorial Stone.

They exchanged a glance. Baby Sasuke was resting safely in his mother's arms and Itachi had quietly slipped away before his parents could detain him. Shisui had been waiting for him and they had combed through half of the destroyed village for their best friend before Itachi had thought of the Memorial Stone.

Maika's head was bowed, her dark red hair shielding her face from view. Her hands were placed very demurely on her lap, her position almost docile. She was utterly motionless. The wind blew softly, swirling the early fall leaves on the ground and ruffling her hair for teasing glimpses of her pale, pale face, but she didn't move.

Itachi moved to kneel by her on one side and Shisui kneeled on her other.

The Uchiha Heir gently brushed aside his best friend's port red hair and felt his heart clench painfully. Maika's face was completely, absolutely blank. There were no tear tracks, no red eyes, no evidence of sorrow.

But her eyes... her eyes showed the shattered girl behind the mask. They stared unseeingly at the Memorial Stone, wholly uncomprehending.

"Oh, Maika-chan." Shisui whispered, turning around to hug the five-year old girl tightly. Itachi mirrored his action on his side, willing to ignore his mild dislike of human contact for his best friend.

She showed no response.

Itachi frowned and glanced at Shisui. Maika was freezing, her simple green shirt and dark green skirt no match for the cold October air. "We need to get her inside."

Shisui nodded grimly and picked his unresponsive friend up. She was depressingly light.

They took off for the Uchiha Manor. Mikoto practically looked upon Maika as a second daughter and Fugaku simply wouldn't care. Maika could stay there for a few days and they would be able to watch over her.

Except, halfway there, Maika shifted in Shisui's arms and he glanced down to see suddenly aware rose eyes staring up at him. Surprised, he skidded to a halt and Itachi was immediately beside him, peering at her worriedly.

"Shisui." She said and her voice was soft and fragile but commanding. "Take me to the Hokage's Office."

He blinked and glanced at Itachi who frowned but nodded.

Fine.

If she wanted to go to the Hokage's Office, they would take her there.

At that point, both of them would have done anything for her. Anything at all.

**VI.**

Maika stalked through the corridors, ignoring everyone and everything in her way, the cold ice that had crawled across her mind shielding her from their pitying eyes and soft whispers. She was focused on one small chakra signature with Minato's warmth and Kushina's passion and nothing, but nothing was going to stop her.

Dimly, she was aware of Shisui and Itachi following her and getting rid of the annoying people who tried to make them leave, but they were distant. Far away.

She was following one thing and one thing only.

Maika slammed open the door for the second time that day and was greeted, yet again, with the Sandaime and a great deal of people she didn't know or care about.

Ignoring their questions and outrage and protests, she veered off to the side where there was a small cradle. She peered inside at the chakra signature she had been following and it sang against her senses.

A baby boy with blond hair and familiar blue eyes blinked at her. He had three whiskers on each side of his cheeks and as soon as he saw her, he smiled widely and giggled, scrunching up his eyes adorably.

On his stomach was a complicated seal, one that she recognized immediately. Eight Trigrams Sealing Style.

Maika stared at the babe. This was Nee-san and Nii-san's son. This was what housed the monster that had destroyed her world. This was her nephew.

Upon noticing her not doing anything, young Naruto started to screw up his cheeks, ready to burst into tears.

Numbly, Maika bent down and picked up her baby nephew, holding him securely against her chest. Rocking him gently on pure instinct, she watched in fascination as Naruto calmed down, smiling at her once more.

This was the last piece of her sister and brother-in-law she had left.

"Maika-chan..." She turned to see the Sandaime approaching her. She dazedly noted that everyone else but Itachi and Shisui had left. When had he dismissed them?

"I'm sorry for your loss." He told her and she stiffened. A shard of anger thrust through the ice that had protected her for so long. He was sorry for her loss?! What did her loss mean to him?!

He hadn't done anything while Kushina and Minato died. She cared nothing for his sympathy. As far as she was concerned, he bore the most blame of Kushina and Minato's death.

"But..." A hint of steel entered the old man's voice and Maika narrowed her eyes, stepping back a step, automatically shielding little Naruto against her. "I cannot allow you to have contact with Naruto-kun."

She stilled, eyes widening. What?

She couldn't... have contact... with her own nephew...?

With... Nee-san... and Nii-san's... son...?

"Naruto-kun is taking his mother's name and you are very widely known as Minato-kun's younger sister." The Sandaime went on. "Iwa cannot ever connect Naruto with his father. And so you cannot be seen with Naruto-kun."

He paused, taking in the stricken girl's face. His voice softened and regret shone through his eyes. "I am truly sorry, Maika-chan."

Colder than ever, Maika slowly turned and placed Naruto back in his crib. He started to cry, wailing and sobbing.

Face impassive, she showed no reaction to her blood relative's tears when she turned back to the old man. "Have it your way, Hokage-sama." Maika said in a voice that was frost and razor ice. Bowing 'respectfully', she spun on her heel and left.

Itachi and Shisui eyed the Hokage darkly and followed after her.

The Sandaime sighed and rubbed his forehead warily. He looked over at the still crying Naruto sadly. "I apologize to you too, little one." He muttered, picking the babe up. "You will have a hard life."

Naruto stopped crying, but looked at the old man with confusion. He wasn't the one the child wanted, Sarutobi Hiruzen knew. But Uzumaki Maika could not be seen near Naruto, even if she was his Aunt. At least, not until she was strong enough that others would be too afraid to invite her fury.

The God of Shinobi resigned himself to a night of crying and tears.

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><p><em>Next time:<em>

_Maika drifted through that week in a daze. She did her routines like a mechanical robot. Wake up, get dressed, eat. Spar, read, eat. Meditate, shower, eat. Brush teeth, change clothes, sleep. Repeat. The doctor diagnosed her as being catatonic to Mikoto's concern. Maika didn't care._

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><p><strong>Yuri Tora: Lolz, he meant his father. Mikoto certainly has no objections to Itachi and Maika marrying. Thanks for the review, hun!<strong>

**Guest: Oh, thank you! Well... a shinobi's life is terribly difficult. As for Minato and Kushina, they're awesome, let's just all admit it. Hope you enjoyed and thanks for the review, hun!**

**S****o, what do you all think? Review please! Thanks to my betas!**


	6. Genin

**Me: I do not own Naruto**

**Naruto: Yeah! Believe it!**

**Me: O.O**

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><p><em>Each of us has his own rhythm of suffering. - Roland Barthes<em>

**I.**

Maika mourned quietly for her family.

Kushina, her sister, was dead. She had already been weakened by childbirth, the doctors told her. The wound through her stomach was simply the last straw.

Minato, her brother-in-law, was dead. He had performed the Dead Demon Consuming Seal and the Eight Trigrams Sealing Technique in conjunction. There had been no chance of him surviving it.

Naruto, her nephew, may as well as have been dead to her. She wasn't allowed to see him; he wasn't to know he had an Aunt at all.

For a week, Shisui and Itachi sheltered her inside the Uchiha Estate. If there had been problems with all three of them missing the Academy, nothing got past the Uchiha Matriarch.

Mikoto had made it her own personal goal to care for Maika. She made the child chicken noddle soup, made sure she had enough blankets at night, and had her clothes silently fetched for her.

The Uzumaki thanked her quietly and made sure to avoid newborn Sasuke as much as she could. He reminded her too much of the babe she had left in the Hokage's Office.

Maika drifted through that week in a daze. She did her routines like a mechanical robot. Wake up, get dressed, and eat. Spar, read, eat. Meditate, shower, and eat. Brush teeth, change clothes, sleep. Repeat. The doctor diagnosed her as being catatonic to Mikoto's concern. Maika didn't care.

It was at night that she broke down. That first night, she had woken up screaming the whole house awake, nearly delirious. When Itachi and Shisui slept next to her the next night, no one complained.

At night, she clung to Itachi and Shisui, her entire body trembling. They hugged her, gentled her during the darkness.

"Why does everyone I love leave me?" She whispered once, shaking like a leaf caught in a gale.

"Ssh. We'll never leave you, Maika-hime." Itachi murmured in her ear.

Shisui hummed in agreement. "Never." He swore on her other side.

It was a lie, but she took it. She was so tired, so empty.

She mourned. But she never cried. Not once.

**II.**

Maika broke her trance at the end of the week with a vengeance. The funeral was the catalyst.

She wore all black to the funeral for Kushina and Minato and declined to say a speech. When it was her turn, she placed a bundle of yellow sunflowers with a single red flower in the middle at the Memorial Stone. She politely thanked the people that came up to her and offered their sympathies.

Itachi and Shisui stayed by her the entire time.

And that was when it occurred to her that she could lose them, too. Maika couldn't, _wouldn't_, allow that. But they were older than she was, out of her reach.

That was unacceptable.

She moved back into her apartment, cleaned the entire place, and thoroughly redecorated it. Kushina and Minato had left everything to her and Naruto; all of their money, all of their belongings. Kushina had been a jounin and Minato had been Hokage. They had a great deal of wealth and extremely valuable items. She put it all to good use.

Every trace, every last fragment of Kushina and Minato she sealed in a sealing scroll that she had learned to make just two weeks ago. Minato had hovered over her like a mother hen and taken her to Ichiraku's in celebration. It seemed so long ago, and now, it took her near to a week simply to make a scroll that powerful. When Naruto grew up, she would give it to him. The child deserved to have a piece of his parents, no matter how distant.

Maika recruited Shisui and Itachi and Mikoto to help her. They provided no objections and she pretended not to notice the ebony eyes that watched her like a hawk for 24/7. If they felt better keeping an eye on her, who was she to disapprove? The boys helped with the lifting and painting while the Uchiha Matriarch lent Maika her impeccable sense of style.

In the span of three days, she turned the walls a sparkling blue - Minato's eyes - the floor a luxurious cream colored carpet - Kushina's clothes - and replaced all the furniture.

The sofas were a sunny yellow - Minato's hair - with red velvet throws - Kushina's hair - and deep blue pillows - Kushina's eyes. The table and chairs were extravagant mahogany and a vase of sunflowers with one red flower was placed perpetually in the middle of the dining table.

After scouring through all the shops in Konoha, she bought a baby white piano and had it placed in the living room. The boys did all the work, of course. Maika didn't know how to play, but she figured that she might as well provide herself with something to fill the cold silence of the nights with.

She also purchased herself a new mattress and new sheets of blood red; the same color as the Uzumaki hair, the Sharingan of her boys, and the blood that seemed to follow her around no matter what she did. Placing it to the side - the center would become too much of a safety hazard, Mikoto informed her kindly - she fingered the soft cotton for a moment and thought of when Kushina used to take her shopping, bemoaning her dark, drab clothes. Abruptly, she forced herself onto her feet and the next item on her list.

She painted her room deep green, the color of the village her family had died for. Both times. That done, she then spent hours upon hours painting calligraphy on every square inch of her walls. She painstakingly made sure every kanji was perfect, her focus never faltering despite Shisui and Itachi's pleas for her to take a break. Maika wrote of peace and life, love and safety, family and friends.

While she was at it, she also took out her ire at her closet. Every piece of clothing that was dull, bland, or monochrome was promptly delivered to the orphanage. Mikoto bought her to every clothing store in Konoha and there, she chose out bright red shirts and navy pants. Orange belts, green jackets, and forest green shoes. She infused every aspect of her life with color and life.

The room that had been Kushina's and Minato's, she turned into a guest bedroom, complete with warm desert walls and a tall, leafy tree on comforting brown rugs. And finally, in bright orange, she painted the Uzumaki spiral, large and unmistakable, on the wall behind her sofas. No one could ever miss it.

Everything was top of the line, deluxe and lavish. With Mikoto's help, she also made sure that the apartment still seemed simple and soothing despite all the color. Gauzy windows let in the light - ninjas seldom had difficult times in seeing in the dark - canvas paintings pastel and pretty on the walls, simple white candles in the midst of the vibrancy.

As far as she was concerned, her apartment was now a shrine of her dead sister and brother-in-law.

Itachi, Shisui and Mikoto watched and said nothing. She didn't know if they understood what she had done. She didn't care.

That done, Maika threw herself into her training.

**III.**

They all could have been deemed a prodigy or a genius.

Shisui was pushed by his unbreakable sense of duty to the clan and the village.

Itachi was pushed by the clan's expectations and his own talent.

Maika was pushed by loss. She was motivated by pain and sorrow and angry helplessness. Her beloved Uzushiogakure and her parents haunted her. Kushina and Minato haunted her. Little Naruto haunted her.

It scared her to death that one day, Shisui and Itachi might haunt her, too.

It was Maika who was hailed as the prodigy.

**IV.**

She went back to the Academy and in one month, they moved her up a year. They didn't understand that she hadn't had a sudden jump in skill or talent; she had simply decided to stop hiding her abilities. There was no need, not anymore.

It wasn't enough. Itachi had already been moved up a year because of his undeniable potential. He was in Shisui's class.

Still out of her reach. She narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists, determination a cold flame in her heart.

Maika spent hours practicing the Uzumaki style taijutsu. She already knew the basics and it was easy enough learning from the scrolls that Kushina left her. She trained until she couldn't move, until her hands and feet were red and bleeding. She threw kunai and shuriken daily, until it became habit. And then she practiced until she had 99% accuracy.

She stayed in the forest for days at a time until she knew how to move on the forest floor without a sound and every nuance of the place her sister and brother-in-law had called home was piercingly familiar to her; practiced fuinjutsu at night until her hands cramped. Her pale skin was always marked with black ink. She didn't care.

She forced Shisui and Itachi to perform genjutsu on her and dispelled them again and again; practiced all the ninjutsu she knew until she could perform it at a moment's notice. And then she bugged Shisui and Itachi into teaching her some more jutsu.

Maika trained and ate and trained and slept and trained. The only thing she did other than train was play her piano and even that was rare. She didn't know if her friends knew why she was training so hard, she never told them, but they worried over her.

Shisui was obvious. He forced food into her mouth, dragged her off to bed, and picked her off the training grounds she collapsed on, scolding her all the while. He threw tantrums in her apartment when she was mistreating herself and sometimes commanded she live in the Uchiha Estate for a while so he could 'make sure you're not training yourself into an early coma!'

Itachi was much more subtle. He picked her up after class, guilt-tripped her into spending time with him so she could rest. He bandaged her wounds, while watching her with that disappointed dark gaze that was capable of tempering her training for days. He took her on long walks that interrupted her training time and pulled her into long discussions about history and politics.

A month passed. Two. Three. Four.

In a single day, Maika completely wiped the floor with all of her classmates in one on one sparring. She was utterly exhausted afterwards, but she succeeded in her final goal: they moved her up a year.

She was finally with Shisui and Itachi. Maika let herself relax for the first time in six months and she shared a happy smile with her relieved and exasperated best friends.

**V.**

"Team 13: Uchiha Shisui..." The teacher read off the list six months later.

Shisui sat up straight and Itachi glanced up. Maika gently closed her book. The one and only reason Shisui was the dead-last of their class was because he spent all of his time on pranks - mostly for cheering up Maika and messing with his stuck-up family - and hadn't wanted to be moved up a class. No one really believed that, but the teachers couldn't exactly do anything about it.

"Uchiha Itachi..." Number one in the class, as expected. And now, it was time to see if their calculations about team arrangements were true or not.

Both boys glanced nervously at their other best friend, equally sly and minute, but there, nonetheless. She stared directly at the teacher, face solemn, rose eyes unreadable.

"And Uzumaki Maika." Top kunoichi of the year, to practically the entire female part of the class' irritation.

"Yeah!" Shisui screamed, standing up and throwing his hands in the air.

Itachi let a rare smile grace his lips. No fangirls, no idiots, no one to nag him; this was going to be _wonderful_.

Maika breathed a sigh of relief and beamed. Everything had turned out okay at last. Itachi and Shisui were within in her reach. She could protect them, make sure they stayed with her. She would finally be able to sleep at night.

The three shared equal looks of joy and happiness.

"Your sensei is Uchiha Juro."

**VI.**

Uchiha Juro was a man with the classic Uchiha features, dark hair and dark eyes that spun with the Sharingan as he stared at his students. Why had they taken a powerful jounin like him off of active duty to teach a bunch of kids?

Let's see, he had Uchiha Shisui. Eight years old. A good kid from the reports, took after Uchiha Kagami. Okay. Fair enough.

Uchiha Itachi. Seven years old. Heir to their clan and said to have already activated his Sharingan. Fine. A bit on the young side, but he was Fugaku-sama's son. He could deal with him.

His eyebrow twitched when he got to the female member of his team. A pretty little girl with dark red hair stared back at him.

Uzumaki Maika. Six measly years old. Why the hell had he gotten her?! Did he look like a babysitter? She was far too young, innocent, fragile and naive to be a kunoichi. Who the fuck did they think he was? A miracle worker?

Scowling, he barked out, "Names, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and goals."

They stared blankly at him.

Face darkening even more, he shouted, "Now!"

"R-right." Shisui stammered. "Uhh, I'm Uchiha Shisui. I like Ita-kun, Maika-chan, and teasing people. I don't like arrogant people. My hobbies are training and pranks. My goal is to protect my village."

"Good." Juro snapped. "Now, you!" He glared at Itachi who looked back calmly.

"My name is Uchiha Itachi." He said quietly. "I like my friends and my baby brother, Sasuke. I don't like war. My hobbies are training and researching history. My goal is peace for Konoha."

Humph. Juro grunted but accepted that response. He considered peace a ridiculous concept, but acknowledged it as an ambitious dream.

"Redhead! Go!" He glared at the Uzumaki who simply raised an eyebrow at him.

"Uzumaki Maika. I like spending time with my friends and sunshine. I don't like abandonment. My hobbies are training and playing the piano. My goal is to protect my precious people." She said unpretentiously.

He sneered. What a stupid, naive goal.

"Alright! Meet me at the training grounds tomorrow at 7 o'clock sharp." Juro said and pulled a quick body flicker, disappearing from sight.

**VII.**

"So..." Shisui mused. "We're all genin now."

The new team was spread out in their meadow, as they considered it now, cuddling close. The sun was yet peaking around the horizon, the late afternoon rays warm and golden.

"I don't think Juro-sensei likes me very much." Maika commented absently. She didn't sound upset about it, Shisui noticed. Personally, he wasn't too happy with their new sensei.

"You're not an Uchiha and you're young." Itachi wove his fingers in her dark red hair thoughtfully. "He doesn't see you as someone worth his time."

"Which is completely absurd." Shisui fumed, dark eyes flashing. He had seen how Maika had trained, seen how she had pushed herself. She was one of the most hardworking people he knew and he was annoyed that their sensei had so easily dismissed her.

"It's okay, Shisui-kun." She gently ran her finger down his arm. "I don't mind."

"He won't train you properly." Itachi objected softly, frowning a bit. An unskilled genin wasn't extremely dangerous, but as time passed...

Maika hummed and tucked her head in the crook of Itachi's neck. "It's okay. I have you two, don't I?"

Shisui blinked and grinned widely, heart warm. Itachi buried his face in Maika's stunning hair, but Shisui still saw the soft smile.

How were they to argue with that?

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><p><em>Next time:<em>

_Frowning in disappointment, he pulled back. "Now, now, Maika-chan, we've talked about this! This is research, research!"_

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><p><strong>Me: Here, we have the reviews~<strong>

**Bloodywings90: I know, I know. *sniff* It's okay though; she has Itachi and Shisui to cheer her up. Thanks for the review!**

**AnimePleasegood: Oh, it is. As for Naruto... we'll see. Thanks for the review, hun!**

**Me: Please review and visit my blog! Thanks to my beta!**


	7. Blade

**Me: I do not own Naruto!**

**Maika: What are you doing with Naruto?!**

**Me: Eek! Nothing, nothing!**

**Maika:...**

**Me: So... I'm on spring break! Break out the updates! And the reviews, please~**

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><p><em>What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches. ~Karl Menninger<em>

**I.**

"You called for me, Sandaime-sama?" Maika asked, perfectly polite and respectful.

The Third Hokage looked at the younger sister of his former successor and almost sighed. She stood practically the entire room away from him and her expression was nearly colder than winters in the Land of Snow. It was all too clear that she was, in no ways, ready to forgive him for all the grievances of her young life.

He couldn't blame her. Not truly. Hiruzen had his own guilt and his own regrets that had compiled over the years into a massive shadow that loomed over him at all times. One of the greatest was not stopping Minato from sacrificing himself. Keeping her last remaining family from Uzumaki Maika was not far down on the list.

"Yes." He took a puff of his pipe and sighed, the smoke curling visibly in the air. "I have something for you from Kushina's will, Maika-chan."

Maika stiffened, her eyes widening. But she said nothing, this child who bore burdens that most grown men would not have been able to stand. And perhaps that was his fault as well.

Hiruzen reached for a drawer in his desk and pulled it out. From there he retrieved a bright red scroll that he had guarded for a much shorter time than he had originally expected. Then again, he mused, as he placed the scroll on his desk, no one had ever imagined Uzumaki Maika would become a genin at age six.

It was a tremendous achievement, certainly. But, he worried over the lengths the child had gone to achieve it and the consequences of such a decision. For months before her graduation, Hiruzen had received reports from many of his ninja regarding little Maika. They said that she trained for hours, pushed herself to the ground.

He had been concerned, but after a discussion with Uchiha Mikoto, had consented to letting the matter rest. The Third Hokage had little doubt that the mother of Uchiha Itachi and relative of Uchiha Shisui understood Maika-chan much better than he ever would.

Now, that child approached his desk with cautious, near silent steps. He waited patiently; time had taught him that rushing with children brought bad results, even if 'child' was, at best, an ambiguous word to describe the Uzumaki he saw in front of him.

Standing in front of his desk at long last, Maika reached out a hand and slowly unfurled the bright red scroll on his desk. Her coral pink eyes quickly scanned the seal that was inscribed on the paper and she inhaled sharply. Glancing up at him, she asked, "Blood seal?"

'Yes,' Hiruzen thought to himself with a tinge of bittersweet pride. 'Maika-chan has come a long way for her to be able to identify such a complicated seal with such speed.'

He nodded to her and said softly, "Kushina wanted you to have it when you became a genin."

The little sister of the Red Hot Habanero flinched slightly at that name and lowered her eyes to the seal, gently tracing the lines with her fingers. After a moment, she stepped back and reached inside her weapon pouch. Bringing out a wicked sharp kunai, her face blank, Maika pricked her finger and let a drop of blood fall on the seal.

The ink flared a violent red and a poof of smoke appeared before the scroll. When it cleared, Maika gasped, open surprise and awe glowing in her eyes. Hiruzen smiled, pleased. In this, at least, he had succeeded.

An elegant katana half the length of its future wielder rested on top of the now blank scroll, intricate gold designs wrapping around the pommel and crisscrossing over the liquor black guard and handle. The sheath was a dark port red that was the exact same color of Maika's hair, contrasting beautifully with the black hanging cord, and so smoothly polished, it glimmered in the dim light.

"Kushina had this custom made by a swordsmith that used to cater to Uzushiogakure. She has left you all the scrolls to the old Uzumaki style of kenjutsu and this sword is now yours, Maika-chan." Hiruzen said quietly while Maika stared at her new sword in shocked admiration.

She shook her head after a second, dark red hair flying everywhere. Silent, she picked up the sword with all the care and consideration she had once given to her nephew. Backing away, sword conscientiously held against her, Maika bowed quickly to the Third Hokage and said, "Thank you, Sandaime-sama." It sounded sincere, too.

Maika was out the door the next instant and Hiruzen took a thoughtful puff of his pipe and smiled. This one act wasn't nearly enough to compensate for all the other wrongs he had done to that child, but it was a good start.

"Hokage-sama?" His assistant poked her head through the door. "You have more paperwork."

The Third Hokage, God of Shinobi, groaned and slammed his head against the desk. Why on Earth had he first accepted this God damned position?!

**II.**

Maika had meant what she had told Itachi and Shisui. She did not care whether or not their sensei displayed favoritism so long as she was with Itachi and Shisui. Her goal was not to impress her sensei; it was to keep her precious people safe.

But this was plainly outrageous.

For the past four days, Juro-sensei had assigned her to water-walking, never mind that she had mastered it months ago. And then, her ever so dedicated sensei had gone off to work with a fuming Shisui and an annoyed Itachi. Maika wasn't sure they wouldn't have mutinied if she hadn't gestured discreetly for them to go along with it.

Standing perfectly on the water's surface, Maika looked at the blue, blue sky and sighed. This was becoming boring, exasperating, and frustrating.

She hadn't worked so hard to be left behind by her boys, because of a prejudiced teacher!

Absently, she placed a hand on a pocket inside her black jacket where she felt a familiar scroll. Upon getting home and getting over her shock, she had immediately created a sealing scroll and sealed her sword inside of it. She was completely out of her league in kenjutsu and she knew better than to cut off an arm trying to wield a sword. She needed a sensei to instruct her.

Which was all the more reason Juro-sensei was being a jerk. Because, as of now, she didn't _have_ a sensei to instruct her.

Pursing her lips, Maika was just about to go confront Juro-sensei when an aching familiar chakra signature beeped on her radar. Her sensing abilities remained largely untrained, but she had been practicing with Shisui and Itachi on sensing and tracking down specific people.

It was slow-going and she could only do it with people whose chakra signature she knew well, but it was the best she could do and she was sticking with it. Practice made perfect, after all.

Maika paused and spun around, staring towards the bath house. A second later, she smiled and raised her hands, forming her fingers into a familiar seal.

Moments later, she leapt away, leaving a shadow clone behind. Juro-sensei wouldn't exactly miss her.

**III.**

Jiraiya of the Sinning peered inside the women's bathhouses, giggling lecherously to himself as he continued his 'research'. Ah... Konoha really did have the best women! Beautiful, curvaceous, prone to spending large amounts of time in the baths...

For a moment, the famed shinobi felt a pang of pain at the remainder of why he hadn't returned to his home village in a year, but he brushed it off with the ease of long practice. Now really wasn't the time to think about that. He had beautiful ladies to be watching! And taking notes on, of course.

"Jiraiya-sensei..." A young, female voice sighed from behind.

Familiar. Painfully familiar.

He didn't startle, having sensed her chakra a few minutes back. Jiraiya would have recognized it anywhere and he supposed he should be glad that the little rosette didn't follow in her sister's footsteps and outright kick him into the midst of several kunoichi in retaliation.

The smile that his lips produced was strained and forced, but it was the best he could do. He had had time to compose himself but it was still a bit of a shock. It had been some time and he... he had eschewed his responsibilities a bit, he admitted to himself.

Despite all that, it took everything Jiraiya had to spin around with a wide grin and not wince at the sight that greeted him. If he hadn't known they were adopted sisters, he would have suspected a familial relationship at once. Anyone would have, really.

Maika had grown taller; her head came up to his waist now. Her hair was longer, rebellious dark red strands fluttering in the air. Her features had matured and he could start to see the faint traces of the stunning woman she would one day become. She wore a black jacket over a green shirt and navy blue pants, and, although he had known about it, the leaf forehead protector that served as her headband was still a shocker.

His little student had become a genin already.

It was her eyes that had changed the most though. While before they resembled that of a traumatized child, now those coral pink eyes were akin to that of a seasoned war chunin. Tired and weary and thoroughly jaded.

Heart clenching, Jiraiya quickly ran forward and engulfed Maika in a hug. "Maika-chan! How have you been?" He asked, making sure his voice was light and boisterous.

She hugged him back, smiling a bit. "Hello, sensei. I see you're up to your old tricks, as usual."

Frowning in disappointment, he pulled back. "Now, now, Maika-chan, we've talked about this! This is research, research!"

"Whatever you say, Jiraiya-sensei." Maika said indulgently. She flicked a glance down to the still blissfully naive woman bathing below. "Perhaps we should go somewhere else to talk." She suggested mildly.

The Sannin sighed mournfully, but agreed. He had never truly neglected his students and he didn't intend to start now... no matter how painful it might be.

**IV.**

"I want you to train me in fuinjutsu and kenjutsu." Maika said bluntly as soon as they situated themselves on an empty training ground.

To her relief, Jiraiya didn't look at that he surprised. In fact, it was almost as if he had been expecting it, if the sigh was any cue. "The old man told me about the sword... and I thought you might have hit a snag in your fuinjutsu." He said, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "What about your jounin sensei, though?

She snorted. "Juro-sensei is an Uchiha and he pays me no attention." Maika replied candidly. It wasn't like she had a problem with it outside of not getting the instruction she needed. And she had Jiraiya now.

Jiraiya blinked and the corners of his mouth tilted down. "Favoritism? That's looked down in Konoha."

She shrugged indifferently. "I don't really care. He couldn't teach me anything more than the basics and maybe a jutsu or two. What I _need_ to learn is the more complicated parts of fuinjutsu and the basics of kenjutsu."

He hesitated some more, but she gave him the puppy eyes. And like everyone else she ever happened to use it on, he folded, to her secret amusement. Itachi and Shisui were her two favorite victims.

And that was how Jiraiya ended up teaching her the higher tiers of sealing and the basics of the Uzumaki kenjutsu style, something he had managed to pick up from Kushina.

Maika was quite pleased with how things turned out.

**V.**

If Juro-sensei ever really noticed she was skipping her 'assignments', he never said anything.

'Probably happy he doesn't have to watch over me anymore,' Maika scoffed. Ah well, it worked out to her advantage so she guessed she shouldn't complain about it.

She told Itachi and Shisui about her training with Jiraiya a day after she snagged him as her teacher. The two were happy for her, and more than happy they no longer had to endure the awkwardness that was their sensei neglecting their precious teammate and not being able to do a thing about it.

They were sent on their first C-rank mission a mere month after they became genin.

It wasn't surprising to the team. They were one of the most efficient genin teams around, despite the problems between Maika and their sensei. It came with three 'geniuses' conspiring to be placed on a team together and succeeding.

Shisui was fast becoming an expert at the body flicker and he had almost mastered his triple-tomoe Sharingan. In other words, he was the heavy hitter. He came in hard and fast and, if some of his methods were a bit extreme... he got the job done. Notwithstanding the countless clearings he burned down.

Itachi's skill with genjutsu was increasing in leaps and bounds, his ability to cast them growing ever more subtle. Unsurprisingly, he was the immobilizer. It was rather hard to move and attack back when you couldn't move. Or see. Or do anything but hang limply from chains.

Maika's prowess with fuinjutsu had shot up with her training with Jiraiya and, along with her improving kenjutsu, she was the distraction. It helped that her red hair was fantastically attention-stealing and her bright clothes were even more so. The various flash bombs she threw around like they were going out of style helped, too.

It went well, most of the time. Maika would stall their opponent, Itachi would trap him in a genjutsu, and Shisui would finish him off.

They completed their first C-rank mission flawlessly. Their sensei was proud, begrudgingly of Maika, the Clan was proud, and Jiraiya was proud.

Itachi, Shisui, and Maika were happy.

They went on more C-rank missions. B-rank missions were next.

Konoha couldn't afford to waste talent.

Six; Maika knelt in front of the Memorial Stone and placed her daily bouquet on the cool surface. The wind blew her long red hair back and she breathed in the fresh morning air, tilting her head back.

Seven; Shisui laughed gleefully as his latest prank came to fruition, all but rolling on the ground. Sitting calmly next to him, Itachi's sigh was exasperated and Maika's laugh was fractured sunlight.

Eight; Team 13 gathered around a round table in a small restaurant on the outskirts of the Hidden Village of Sand, grinning and teasing good-naturedly. Their latest mission had gone well and even Juro-sensei hadn't protested.

And then things went wrong.

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><p><em>Next time:<em>

_'Itachi is going to die.'_

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><p><strong>Me: Yay! The reviews:<strong>

**AnimePleasegood: Hmm... Maika's only real goal at this point is to be with Itachi and Shisui. She really doesn't care about her sensei... ^_^lll. Thanks for the review, hun!**

**Error 404: :o Thank you, thank you, thank you! That honestly made my day! I'm so happy you like my story! *dances around the room***

**Caeleste: TT-TT Aren't we all? Itachi's story is just so sad! I'm gonna have to do some plot maneuvering...**

**Good Omens: Thank you, thank you! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**Question: Who likes the new cover picture?**


	8. Politics

**Me: I do not own Naruto~**

**Maika: ...**

**Me: *laughs nervously***

**Maika: *glares***

**Me: Visit the blog, review, and stay alive, everyone! *runs away***

**Maika: ... *glares***

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><p><em>There is no force equal to a woman determined to rise. ~W.E.B. Dubois<em>

**I.**

'Itachi is going to die.'

That was all Maika could think as she watched the enemy ninja hurl towards her teammate, her pillar in the storm, her best friend... with a kunai in his hands, murder in his eyes.

'Itachi is going to die.'

They were on a B-rank mission to escort an important mayor to his home in a small village on the edge of Iwagakure. It had been going well, almost boring... until the Iwa ninjas had ambushed them. Then, in the fray, it had turned out the mayor had been hoarding a valuable scroll worth thousands that he had illegally obtained from his rival, and said rival had decided to hire ninjas to assassinate the mayor and steal back the scroll. Naturally, their client hadn't told them this.

She always found herself amazed at what lengths others would go to for money, but that was neither here nor now.

Enter the situation Team 13 was currently in.

It was the four of them against more than a half dozen ninjas, a mixture of chunin and genin. Not green shinobi, but seasoned attackers. Killers.

To their credit, they had stood their ground, three genin and one jounin. There was a time for staying and fighting a good fight and performing a tactful retreat. If she was honest, Maika would have preferred the retreat, but that really hadn't been an option. There was no way out.

Until Itachi had gotten caught by surprise, they had been doing reasonably well. Not winning, no, but holding their own.

Juro-sensei had dealt with the two chunin, blasting them with fire and wind jutsu, successfully keeping them off of his students. In accordance with that goal, he had also lured the two a bit away from them, doing his best to keep the powerful jutsu they were spewing out from affecting them.

Shisui had fought with two genin, flickering randomly around the clearing and thoroughly confusing them. His speed had always been ridiculous and he had learned to use to his advantage. His opponents' reflexes were quick enough that Shisui couldn't just stick a kunai in their backs, but it didn't look they were going to go anywhere anytime soon.

Itachi had engaged with two genin, too, easily ensnaring one in a genjutsu, and locked in hand to hand combat with the other. The unfortunate victim of the Uchiha Heir's frightening talent for genjutsu convulsed on the ground, while his teammate gritted his teeth and did his best to overpower the stoic Uchiha. It wasn't working out well, to say the least.

That had left Maika with only one opponent, rather exasperated with her teammates' protectiveness. But the battlefield hadn't been exactly the best time to complain, so she had went with it. Her opponent was a large, bulky, twelve year old who obviously didn't know what he was doing. He also severely underestimated the petite, eight year old redhead and suffered the price, the hilt of a wicked sharp katana to the neck.

She didn't like to kill unnecessarily. It reminded her too much of crumbling villages and terrified screams and fire, fire everywhere. And a world of crimson and blood.

Maika had been cleaning the blood off her katana when the hidden chunin leapt from cover, a trio of inconspicuous bushes a few feet away, and towards the preoccupied Itachi with the clear intent to kill. She didn't know how he had bypassed her own sensor abilities - a jutsu? one she didn't know? was it her fault? - and time had frozen.

'Itachi is going to die.'

She could see it clearly. Itachi was dealing the finishing move to his opponent, wouldn't be able to turn around in time. Shisui was too far away, for all his speed, to help and he knew it, too, horror painted on his classic features. Juro-sensei was still fighting his opponents and they were all too _far away_!

_"Itachi!"_ Shisui screamed and time resumed, the clock ticking away without mercy. No one could fight against the clock; time was an eternal enemy, an invincible enemy and she was suddenly reminded of the harsh grip of years passing by while being buried under meters and meters of dirt, unable to move or talk or scream or even to cry.

Eyes wide, Sharingan spinning frantically, Itachi tried to get out of the way, but he was slow, too slow -

"Damn!" Juro-sensei cursed harshly, thrusting a kunai into the throat of one of his enemies. The other was already bleeding out on the floor, but he wouldn't make it.

No one would make it.

**'Itachi is going to die.'**

Something snapped inside of her with a nearly audible sound and she cried out in anguish and pain and helplessness.

_'He's going to leave me, going to leave me just like Okaa-san and Otou-san and Uzushiogakure and Nee-san and Nii-san and Naruto, no, no, NO!-'_

Maika fell to her knees violently and let her chakra loose.

**II.**

When the dust cleared and she could see again, she stared. Shisui stared, Itachi stared, Juro stared, and the enemy ninja stared. Everyone froze in shock.

Links, binds, chains formed from her chakra had shot out from her back to burrow themselves into the ground, assisted by blades on the ends, before surfacing to wind and coil around the enemy ninja, stopping him a bare inch from where Itachi stood, form unmoving. The chunin's kunai hovered centimeters away from her teammate's throat.

The chains glowed softly, a gentle eerie glow from her chakra. Maika shook her head slowly. What... how... she didn't understand...

Before he had left a month ago, Jiraiya had patted her head and said in the most serious tone, "You're an Uzumaki, Maika-chan. Don't ever forget that."

You're an Uzumaki. An Uzumaki.

Oh. _Oh._

She had heard of this ability in some of her kindred, but she had never expected...

The chunin reacted first. "What the hell?!" He roared, struggling against the chains that wrapped tightly around him. He had reason to be frightened; after all, he was immobilized and there were plenty of enemy shinobi around him. And he had just attacked one with the intent to kill.

In desperation, he surged chakra through his body and began trying to break out through force. He was a veteran of the Third Shinobi World War and he had experience, power, control. Maika, for all of her training and impressive abilities, was a child.

Unprepared for the assault, a chain broke, and Maika gasped, face going pale at the sudden spike of pain. When the chunin had broken the chain, half of the chakra that had formed it had simply dissipated, but the other half...

The other half snapped back into her, and it _hurt_. A little like being rammed by an outraged bull and then stabbed through the gut and _then_ taking a fire jutsu point-blank. That sort of hurt.

Cheered on by his success, the chunin threw all of his chakra into augmenting his strength, flooding his body with jutsu. Desperation did wonders and he had torn through half of the chains before Maika had whimpered, jolting Itachi enough to swipe a kunai over the man's jugular.

He was dead in seconds, warm blood leaking all over the floor, and the chains quickly turned back into chakra that returned to their user, depositing the dead man on the ground. A corpse, skin already cooling, but everyone had already dismissed him, more concerned with the only kunoichi of the team.

Dazed with pain and exhaustion, Maika lifted up her head and her pale pink eyes met Itachi's red Sharingan eyes. In it, was a quiet truth that she knew was reflected in her own eyes.

She had manifested the Uzumaki chakra chains.

Sighing, Maika surrendered to the darkness and collapsed, her red, red hair falling over her like a blanket that was just as symbolic as the Uchiha Clan's fan.

**III.**

Maika was in a coma for three days, as the nurses had seen fit to inform her. When she woke up at last, she was in the hospital, her teammates asleep on chairs beside her bed. There, for hours, she reflected on what her new ability meant. To her, to her team, to her... family.

It would be useful, certainly, once she got past the pain of having her chakra stabbing back inside of her. It was a trait of her clan, her village, her family. She should be proud and, maybe, she was, just a little. Just a little. But... it was also a reminder of all that she had lost. Kushina had showed her little sister her ability to create chakra chains, once. She had never forgotten.

'If my sister was still alive,' Maika wondered helplessly to herself, 'would she be proud of me?' Of course, that rapidly produced an ache in her heart for if Kushina had been alive at this moment, she wouldn't have to guess. Maika closed her burning eyes, leaned back against her pillow.

She missed her laughing, generous-hearted, lovely older sister. She missed her warm, smiling, gifted, handsome older brother. She missed her adorable, cherished, loved, _orphaned_ little nephew.

When they woke up, her teammates didn't mention the incident or the tears that streaked her face. Instead, Itachi gently wiped them off with his thumb, and Shisui regaled her with tales of the pranks he had in mind to set up for next month.

The next time they trained as a team - approximately two weeks later; God, her teammates were overprotective! - she quietly opted out of the sparring and sat down underneath a tree, eyes closed. Itachi and Shisui didn't comment, didn't object.

As they spared, kunai against kunai, Sharingan against Sharingan, she concentrated on her chakra, on the feeling she had felt that abrupt second before Itachi would have been killed. Anguish, fear, pain, anger...

An hour later, as the fight between Itachi and Shisui was coming to an end, glowing chakra chains burst from Maika's back and wound around her boys, gently restraining them. There was no force, no harm. Later, when asked, Shisui would claim that it felt like she was hugging him, and Itachi would nod quietly in agreement.

Maika opened her eyes and smiled at them. They smiled back and Juro-sensei stared at her for a moment, before nodding curtly. The first sign of approval he had ever given her.

The Uzumaki did not reject it.

**IV.**

She had always known of Itachi's problems with the clan. He was her best friend and she was his. They didn't keep secrets. They were young enough, still innocent enough, to not do so.

It wouldn't last, Maika knew, but she would treasure it while she still had it. Trust was a rare commodity in the shadowy world of shinobi and she would _never_ betray any of her boys. She didn't think she had it in her.

It occurred to her, one day, as they were relaxing with Shisui in their meadow, that the Uchiha Clan could take her boys away from her.

"The Elders are angry." Itachi had murmured to her, petting her hair in that way he liked. It was comforting and relaxing and normally, she would have been drowsing in the later afternoon sunlight. But the vibe her best friend had been giving off had worried her and she had resolved to stay awake until she got it out of him.

"Why?" She'd asked with a small frown, resting on his chest. He had smelled good, dark chocolate mixed with sandalwood and cashmere wool. Itachi smelled like home.

"They want me to take the Chunin Exams this year." He'd replied. "But Okaa-san insisted on next year." And only the stupid and suicidal argued with Uchiha Mikoto.

The Elders. The Clan. The Heir.

They were all connected. Connected by blood and family and politics.

She couldn't interfere in the first two... but the last one was hers. She hadn't worked so hard to let them take away her boys.

Maika knocked politely on the ornate door and a moment later, it opened and she was faced with the Uchiha Matriarch.

"Maika-chan!" Mikoto smiled warmly at her in welcome, and she felt a flood of affection. Itachi's mother had always cared for her, and had done her best to substitute for Kushina despite her duties as the wife of the Clan Head and the pressures of being a mother of two. She knew she owed the lady a great deal.

Speaking of, she realized that Sasuke was close to turning five years old. And so was Naruto. Her heart clenched painfully.

"Mikoto-sama." She greeted, bowing in respect.

"It has been a long time. Are you here to see Itachi? He's out with Sasuke, right now." Mikoto asked, eyes soft with maternal love and pride.

Her Okaa-san had once looked at her like that. Nee-san had once looked at her like that. Nii-san had once looked at her like that. Maika shook her head, shaking the depressing thoughts away. Now wasn't the time. She couldn't help the dead, but she would protect the living. "No. I'm here to see you."

Mikoto blinked and stepped back. "Well then, come on in, Maika-chan. You know you're welcome any time."

**V.**

"Now," Mikoto said, when the two were sitting down and Maika was drinking a cup of hot tea. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

Maika paused and gently set her tea down. Steeling her resolve, the young kunoichi looked up, straight into the Matriarch's obsidian eyes, eyes that she had passed on to her sons.

"I would like for you to tutor me in politics." Maika declared, her voice soft but firm.

Mikoto interlaced her fingers, placing them thoughtfully on her lap. She could guess why the young girl would want to know about politics; this was about Itachi and Shisui. Staring intently at the red-haired girl, she noted the determination and fiery will that shone through those pink eyes.

Maika would _not _let the Uchiha Clan take away her team even if she had to resort to political maneuvering and subtle manipulation, an affront to her honest nature. She understood that force would not win her this battle and Mikoto was an expert in getting things done without anyone knowing different.

She smiled. 'Kushina, you would be proud to see how your sister's turned out.' Courageous and bold and protective and loving.

"I believe you do not want Itachi or Shisui-kun to know about this?" Mikoto questioned gently.

"No." She replied simply. The boys would protest, try and keep her away from their clan, and that couldn't be allowed.

"In that case," Mikoto reached across the table and laid a guiding hand on Maika's smaller one. "We had better get started."

Maika's relieved smile could have outshone the sun.

**VI.**

For the next several months, she came to the Uchiha Matriarch when Itachi and Shisui were out, and Mikoto taught her everything a lady of the Uchiha Clan was expected to know.

"Coax rather than force. Manipulate rather than threaten. Compel rather than demand." She told Maika, gently guiding the younger girl through the tea ceremony. "But in the end, never hesitate to use brute force if necessary."

Maika listened and remembered and learned.

Flower arranging, singing, tea and calligraphy, perfumes and jewelry; Mikoto taught them all to her and she learned eagerly.

"In the Uchiha Clan, women are subservient. The men tell us what to do and we do it. But we do other things, too, things that they don't know and will never understand." For they didn't want to understand, to notice and comprehend, but that was alright for it worked out to their advantage.

She was taught how to dance with ribbons and fans, twirled silk and satin high above her head. She learned how to listen to the politics men thought they controlled and how to exploit the loopholes no one else noticed. She held her head high, back straight, face serene, and hide the defiance and wildness behind elegant gestures and cultured manners.

Hide your weaknesses well enough and no one would ever be able to use them against you. Protect your assets well enough and no one would ever be able to harm them.

"A word there, a look here, and a subtle glint of steel are all you will ever need to get the things you approve of done and the things you disapprove of never accomplished."

Maika learned how to weave commands in between sweet words, the art of poisonous flattery, and much, much more.

"You are yet a child, but innocence is a great advantage. When you become a woman, remember what I have taught you and put it to good use."

Graciousness. Politeness. Subtlety. Loyalty. Devotion.

_Resolve._

"You are a female, Maika-chan. Never forget. Men will always underestimate you if you appear demure and meek; do what you will in the shadows and they won't ever find out until after it is done and over with."

"Hai, Mikoto-sama."

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><p><em>Next time:<em>

_"Fugaku-sama and the Elders want to break up Team 13." He explained and Maika's confusion turned into the coldest rage._

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><p><strong>Me: Yay! Reviews~<strong>

**iciclefangAJ: No worries! Maika-chan got to him in time! And traumatic situations galore. Thanks for the review, hun!**

**Good Omens: Whoops! Already edited that part; thanks for the catch, sweetie! Jiraiya'll keep an eye on her. :3**

**Caeleste: It's okay! Maika-chan did some damage control. No one was hurt. Well, except for the chunin, but no one attacks Ita-kun and gets away with it! Thanks for the review!**

**AnimePleasegood: Ah, it's fine, it's fine! Cliffhangers are fun! A decoy, hmm? Maybe. ;) Thanks for the review, hun!**

**Draconos: Aww... thank you! I'm so happy you like my story! As for Itachi and Shisui... hmm... guess we'll have to see! Danzo... that guy is annoying. For now though, I think Maika-chan is safe. Thanks for the review!**

**Me: Alright! Thanks to all my reviews, and, of course, my awesome beta! Visit my blog and review~**


	9. Chunin

**Me: Naruto does not belong to me~**

**Maika: Why are you picking on my nephew?**

**Me: Kyaa! Put that sword away!**

**Maika: ... Fine.**

**Me: *sighs in relief* Okay! Review and take a glance at my blog please!**

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><p><em>She is free in her wildness, she is a wanderess, a drop of free water. She knows nothing of borders and cares nothing for rules or customs. ~Roman Payne<strong><br>**_

**I.**

Maika was nine when her team participated in the Chunin Exams. Itachi was ten and Shisui was eleven. They were the youngest team there.

It didn't matter. They still scared the shit out of all the other genins.

That year's exams took place in Kumogakure. She was decisively unimpressed with the rocky terrain, although she supposed Iwagakure would be a lot worse.

The first stage wasn't very hard. The team was given a chakra-infused wire bomb and instructed to dissemble it without setting it off in twenty minutes. Granted, it had looked quite complicated, but it took Shisui and Itachi five minutes to figure out how the bomb worked with their Sharingan and Maika two minutes to dissemble it with some delicate swordwork. They passed with thirteen minutes to spare.

The second stage was more annoying than anything. They had to find and obtain a scroll hidden in a tall mountain on the edges of Kumogakure. There was a limited number of scrolls and the competition was fierce. They encountered and defeated two teams before Shisui found a scroll. From there though, it was easy sailing.

Then came the preliminaries, to their annoyance.

Shisui fought against a Sand puppeteer. With his speed and fire jutsu, he easily roasted the puppets. And the puppeteer. He won.

Itachi went against a pitiful ninjutsu specialist from the Mist. She had to pull on every ounce of etiquette and indifference she had learned from Mikoto to not burst out into laughter at the contempt that flashed in her best friend's eyes when the match was called out. It took him... maybe one minute to overpower his enemy's ninjutsu with his own and win the match.

Maika was paired up with a ninja from Kumogakure that _Just. Would. Not. Stop. Talking!_

"Scared, little girl?" He taunted, pulling out his sword. Ah. And he apparently used a katana, too. How wonderful.

She didn't even bother to respond, merely putting a hand on Chitama, or Blood Gem, as she had decided was her blade's name.

"Your big, bad teammates can't protect you down here, sweetheart." Her opponent smirked, falling back into a combat stance.

To this, Maika smiled, rather amused. When they had first arrived, one of the Mist genin had decided he liked her; so he decided to corner her in a hallway and try and touch her. Naturally, her teammates had not been happy when they had come across the scene.

Which meant that Shisui had beaten the guy within an inch of his life and when he was done, Itachi had cast a genjutsu that had... not been all rainbows and sunshine judging by the screams.

The news had traveled quickly, hence why they scared the shit out of all the other genin. Since then, everyone had kept a distance from her team and avoided her like the plague. Apparently, that guy had been a message: mess with Uzumaki Maika and her teammates would tear you apart.

Maybe she should have been annoyed at the boys' over-protectiveness, she could have taken care of that Mist nin just fine, but honestly, she was only amused. Besides... it was useful when her enemies underestimated her, like her opponent was doing right now.

"Prepare yourself!" He shouted now, and charged.

Maika narrowed her eyes and slid Chitama out of its sheath.

It was a given that her opponent would be stronger that her: he was male, four years older, and visibly fit. But she trained with Shisui and Itachi and could evenly match them most of the time.

Her opponent could not harm her if he could not strike her.

A flick of her wrist, a gleam of her blade, a burst of blood, and the cloud ninja was bleeding out on the floor and she was the winner.

Maika was fine with Shisui and Itachi being her shield, but the fools needed to know that she was far from weak.

None of the other genin wanted to be up against anyone in that team from Konoha. Uchiha Shisui's grin was creepy and he snuck up behind you like a ghost. Uchiha Itachi was damn scary and didn't display any emotion on his face. And finally, Uzumaki Maika was the worst of them all as she looked entirely innocent until you were cut in two.

Said team was just really amused.

**II.**

For the finals, Maika was up against a genjutsu specialist from Kirigakure.

As a result, Juro-sensei decided she needed a rapid crash course on dispelling genjutsu. And what that meant for her was having Itachi and Shisui throw genjutsu at her until she could break out in at least three seconds. It was mostly Itachi though. He was the acknowledged genjutsu master amongst their team.

She was grateful, but she was also tired. There were only so many times she wanted to see the world falling beneath her feet. When she told him that, Itachi had only raised an eyebrow at her and told her to get faster at breaking out of his genjutsu. Stupid Uchiha.

Needless to say, that advice wasn't exactly useful. But the training did make her realize something: the full impact of the dangerous, powerful kekkei genkai known as the Sharingan.

"Ne, Shisui-kun, Itachi-kun?" She said one day, during a peaceful and rare lull in training.

"What is it, Maika-hime?" Itachi gently brushed a strand of hair off her face, subtly taking in her intoxicating scent of jasmine and peach. 'She really should bottle that and sell it...' He thought absently.

"Will you two promise me something?" Maika asked, staring into the clear blue sky.

"Sure! What is it?" Shisui grinned at her.

"Never use your Sharingan on me outside of training." She replied, reaching a hand up towards the sun. It was so warm.

Shisui and Itachi blinked, looked at each other in surprise. They hadn't quite been suspecting _that,_ but...

"Alright. I promise." Shisui playfully ruffled up Maika's hair. "Don't worry about it."

"I promise I won't ever use my Sharingan on you outside of training." Itachi murmured in her ear.

"Thanks, guys." She whispered, staring into the sun. How was it possible to shine so bright?

All her hard work paid off in her fight when she utterly trashed her opponent. After facing Itachi and Shisui for so long, it was child's play to rip out of her opponent's genjutsu and throw him across the stadium with a wind jutsu. The best part was that it only took a minute.

The look on his face when he forfeited had been hilarious.

**III.**

To the entire village's surprise, her entire team made chunin at the same time.

A feat that only the Sannin had done before.

It hadn't been easy. Maika had immediately forfeited when going up against Itachi, a bare second before he would have. She had trained to _protect_ her boys, not try and hurt them. Said boy had frowned - a slight downward tilt of his lips - at her, but accepted it sulkily.

Not long after that, Itachi and Shisui had faced off. And ended up knocking each other unconscious after a suitably dragged-out, flashy fight that was hardly lethal. There had been perhaps... a one percent chance of an injury even coming _close_ to needing a medic's treatment.

In the end, it hadn't mattered though. They had displayed enough talent, they were told. They were powerful enough, smart enough, ninja enough. Maika, Itachi, and Shisui traded smug looks as they received their chunin vest.

The trio celebrated in their meadow, laughing and teasing and grinning. It was wonderful.

But nothing lasted forever.

**IV.**

Uchiha Juro died in service to his Village, a mere two weeks after his entire team graduated, on an A-rank mission.

The day of his funeral began with a light drizzle. And then a raging downpour.

Shisui's face was blank, as expected of an Uchiha. But she knew her teammate and his eyes were filled with anguish.

Itachi was the same.

Maika hadn't spent nearly the amount of time with their sensei as her teammates had. But, he had been her sensei for three years and she cried silently for all of them. The rain disguised her tears, but her boys knew. They always knew.

Chunin they may have been, but she was only nine years old, Itachi ten, Shisui eleven.

They were still just children.

They carved his name on the Memorial Stone and from that day on, Maika bought a bouquet of red lilies to lay there and prayed every morning.

"Please don't anyone else away from me." She whispered to the Stone._  
><em>

**V.  
><strong>

If the heavens heard her call, they didn't answer it.

Three months into being a chunin and Itachi stalked into their meadow one day, his Sharingan spinning. Shisui followed him, his face murderous.

Maika sat up immediately, the hairs on the back of her neck sticking up. Something was wrong, something was very wrong.

"What is it?" She demanded at once.

Itachi didn't respond, but knelt down next to her. He collected her into his arms, burying his face against her hair.

Lost, she glanced up at Shisui who gave her a grim look that looked decidedly out of place on his normally cheerful face.

"Fugaku-sama and the Elders want to break up Team 13." He explained and Maika's confusion turned into the coldest rage.

She knew without asking that they could do it, too.

Not saying another word, she turned and rested her head in the crook of Itachi's neck.

She would make them regret messing with the last few remaining pieces of her heart.

_Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned. ~William Congreve_

**I.**

Maika had not been tutored for a year by The Uchiha Mikoto for nothing. It didn't matter that she couldn't talk to her mentor now. She knew what to do.

She gathered the appropriate document and met with Itachi and Shisui.

"Maika-hime? What is this?" Itachi frowned at the paper in front of. It was blank.

Shisui looked just as confounded, but Maika simply smiled.

"Do you trust me?" She asked her teammates, voice serious.

Itachi stilled and Shisui frowned sharply.

"Of course we do." The older boy replied.

"In that case," She pointed to a space near the bottom of the paper, "sign here, please."

Shisui and Itachi exchanged a look. As members of the Uchiha Clan, they were well aware of what signing an unknown document could mean, the consequences of such a risky action. Itachi was Heir and his signature carried a lot of could lead to disaster, destroy their lives completely.

They signed it without another question, and she secured an audience with the Hokage.

**II.**

"Sandaime-sama is ready to see you," The secretary told her and she nodded curtly.

Opening the door, Maika strode in the room and Sarutobi Hiruzen eyed her warily.

He knew that walk, that chin tilt, had seen it many times before. It was the look of a woman on a mission, and no one, but no one was going to stand in her way.

Hiruzen gulped and wondered just how much the Red Hot Habanero had influenced Uzumaki Maika. He had seen armies fall before Kushina when she was in that mood.

"Maika-chan. What can I do for you?" He asked, taking a puff of his pipe to calm his nerves.

In response, she placed a paper in front of him and rolled it open. Boldly, she stared straight into his eyes, rose pink eyes alight with conviction and purpose. "I'd like you to sign this."

The Third Hokage read over the document, eyes widening and pipe abruptly forgotten. Inhaling sharply, he suddenly remembered the demands of Uchiha Fugaku for the disbanding of Team 13. The Uchiha Head wanted his son, his Heir to be placed in an intense program that would eventually end up with Itachi in Anbu and far away from his former teammates.

He hadn't wanted to do it, but Hiruzen knew that he was only a few days away from caving. Itachi was technically his son, and thus, he did have the authority to make such a decision. The Hokage disagreed, but had considered the whole thing a lost cause. He had thought there was nothing more he could do.

He was wrong... and it was all because of Uzumaki Maika.

Face carefully impassive, he looked back at the young girl waiting quietly. "Are you sure about this, Maika-chan?" Hiruzen asked softly. "Fugaku will not be pleased and he is a dangerous opponent, especially for a new, nine year old chunin."

She didn't waver. "Yes, Hokage-sama. I am sure." Maika glanced at the paper. "All that is needed, now, is your stamp. Itachi-kun, Shisui-kun, and I have already signed."

Glancing at the bottom of the page, Hiruzen realized that this was true. Narrowing his eyes, he leaned back, smoking his pipe. There were so many factors at stake that he knew he really shouldn't sign such a document, especially not now, with only a short amount of time to think through the decision.

The Uchiha Clan would be angry, the Council would be angry, Fugaku would think he was trying to usurp his authority, the list went on and on.

But... Hokage he may be, but Sarutobi Hiruzen was still human. And he was just as susceptible to guilt as everyone else was.

In his own way, he had taken away Maika's sister and brother. He kept her from her nephew even now. What right did he have to take away her teammates, the only thing she had left?

Hiruzen sighed deeply, but stamped the paper. "I hope you know what you're doing, Maika-chan." He said as she gave him a nod of thanks and picked the paper up carefully.

Maika looked at him, those beautiful, beautiful rose gold eyes unwavering. "I'm saving my world, Hokage-sama." She whispered.

**III.**

Three days later, Fugaku called Itachi to his office.

"Yes, Otou-san?" He bowed respectfully to his father, mind racing. Was this the day his team was disbanded? It couldn't be...

It couldn't be.

"Itachi. Inform Uchiha Shisui and Uzumaki Maika they are invited to dinner tomorrow." Fugaku stated, his voice so bland even his own son couldn't tell his emotional state.

Only years of training kept Itachi from freezing. "Hai, Otou-san. Is there anything else?" He made sure his face and his voice remained even.

"No. You are dismissed."

Itachi nodded and backed out of the room. Once back in the relative safety of his room, he let the mask fall and paced around restlessly.

Why did his father want to see Maika? Shisui was normal, but Fugaku had never shown an interest in Maika like Mikoto had. What had happened for his father to notice now-

Itachi stilled abruptly, mind racing back to that document Maika had asked him to sign. That was it. That document... it was the answer to the change. What had that silly girl done now?!

When he told Maika and Shisui later, she didn't even bother trying to hide her satisfaction.

He narrowed his eyes at her. "What did you do, Maika-hime?"

She simply smiled at him. "Don't worry, Itachi-kun. Everything will turn out fine. This dinner is going to be formal, right?"

Itachi nodded reluctantly.

"Alright. Pick me up at six." She told him and skipped out.

Shisui stared after her, looking horrified. "Ita-kun, what did she _do_?"

"I have no idea." He said honestly, also staring after his inexplicably happy best friend.

**IV.**

Itachi arrived at Maika's apartment promptly at six and was struck speechless.

Maika smiled at him and spun in a complete circle. "How do I look?"

He swallowed. Hard.

His teammate was dressed in a formal kimono, bright orange with vibrant red and yellow leaves, and a dark red obi that matched her hair with pale pink threads. She had left her hair unbound, but had pinned a pink flower above her left ear.

Maika looked like a living, breathing manifestation of autumn and flickering flames, and Itachi was very nearly spellbound.

It was only the uneasy remainder of why she was dressed up as thus that kept him from completely losing his cool.

"You look beautiful." He replied truthfully.

She smiled, flushing slightly. Itachi watched in fascination; Maika very rarely ever blushed.

"Shall we go, then?" She asked, heading for the door.

He frowned, the barest down turn of his lips. "Maika-hime... Otou-san will expect you to know the correct protocol..." No matter how unreasonable it was for an orphan of the past few years.

Maika patted his arm reassuringly. "I told you, didn't I? Don't worry. Everything will be fine."

As if he could simply accept that.

**V.**

Mikoto welcomed Maika into her home and directed her to the dinner table, making sure she appeared completely oblivious to her silly husband's anger, her eldest son and his teammate's worry, and her youngest son's curiosity.

The young girl greeted Fugaku correctly, a deep bow, and fluidly settled into the seat meant for her as the guest, calm and assured.

Mikoto carefully hid her smile at the flare of surprise in her family's eyes. Maika was no fool and Mikoto was a meticulous teacher.

The pleasantries passed swiftly and she could feel the increasing confusion at her dining table as dinner went on. Maika was amiable without being forward, polite without being stuffy, respectful without being flattering. She used the correct utensils, carried on the conversation with lighthearted ease, and acted much like a proper lady.

Shisui was baffled, Itachi was bewildered, and Fugaku was plain dumbfounded. Sasuke had no idea anything was wrong and to her credit, Maika seemed to be indulging the boy, smiling and gently teasing him.

Perfect. 'Excellent job, Maika-chan.' She congratulated mentally.

Her husband was not known for his patience, especially when he was angry. After dessert, she knew he was at the end of his tether.

And Mikoto was right. As always.

"Enough." Fugaku slammed a hand down on the table and all conversation at the dinner ceased as everyone turned to stare at the Clan Head. The tension levels rose visibly and Mikoto resisted the urge to sigh; her husband had never truly understood the meaning of subtlety, to her dismay.

Fixing his dark gaze upon the unperturbed Maika, Fugaku slammed a piece of paper on the table, anger shimmering just underneath his skin. "I invited you to dinner to talk about this, Uzumaki. Would you care to tell us all what this is?"

Shisui tensed while Itachi narrowed his eyes at the paper. Confused, a little worried, Sasuke flicked his gaze between his father and his brother's teammate. He was young yet, but even he could pick up on the hostility in the air.

Maika's face remained calm, her eyes unreadable. "That would be an appeal to the Hokage, Uchiha-sama."

"Yes." Fugaku hissed out between his teeth before suddenly swinging his gaze to Itachi and Shisui. "Did you two know about this?"

It was Maika who answered. "No. When I asked them to sign, they saw only a blank paper."

The powerful jounin glared darkly at the red-haired girl and Mikoto saw her eldest son tense slightly and fall back on his heels.

Oh, dear. Mikoto didn't want her family to fall apart because her husband had the bad sense to pick on his son's teammate and best friend.

"So, Itachi and Shisui decided to sign a mysterious blank paper?" Fugaku pressed.

Maika looked evenly back at the older man. "In Konoha, trust between teammates is commended, Uchiha-sama."

Oooh. The teacher side of Mikoto wanted to smile and clap her hands. The wife side of Mikoto wanted to knock her elbow into her husband's side as a warning.

That was some very tricky wording. It was a statement, not a question, and it didn't answer Fugaku's question, but it did. If Fugaku tried to argue against that, it would be a sign of treason against the ideals of Konoha. Nothing serious... but it would cast more suspicion over the Uchiha Clan than there already was. If he didn't argue against it, he would already have conceded defeat.

From the hardness of his gaze, her husband had realized that. So, he decided to change tactics. "This," He stated, sweeping his eyes over the three chunin, "is an approved request for Uzumaki Maika, Uchiha Shisui, and Uchiha Itachi to not be disbanded as Team 13."

Shisui's eyes widened, open surprise on his face as he whirled around to gawk at his Clan Head. Itachi's reaction wasn't much different and it was painfully honest the two boys had known nothing about this.

Only Maika retained her composure, and this, Mikoto realized, proved she was the true mastermind behind the entire plan. With the pure lack of surprise on her face and the genuine surprise on her teammates' faces, she had successfully diverted Fugaku's wrath off of them.

It was a good ploy; she approved.

"It was stamped by the Hokage, Fugaku-sama." Maika said coolly. "It's a done deal. I'm afraid you simply can not change it."

Killing intent filled the air and Itachi's sharingan activated in response to his father's spinning red eyes while Shisui's chakra spiked. It was a deliberate move and Mikoto forced herself to display no reaction.

The boys were telling Fugaku that if he laid a hand on their teammate, they would turn them against him.

Her husband's hand on the table clenched violently. "You go too far, Uzumaki Maika."

For a long moment, Maika was silent. And then she smiled, sharp enough to draw heart's blood. "No, Fugaku-sama. You were the one who went too far when you threatened me and mine."

Rising smoothly to her feet, she bowed respectfully, if a bit mocking, and said, "Pardon me, Fugaku-sama, Mikoto-sama. Shisui-kun can escort me out as I'm sure you have much to discuss with Itachi-kun."

With that, Maika managed to sweep out of the room regally, for all that she was nine years old. Shisui followed after her dumbly, pure incomprehension writ on his face.

Mikoto's student left Fugaku in a state of numb fury, Itachi staring blankly at the wall, and Sasuke peering after her with awe-struck eyes.

"What did you expect, Fugaku?" She asked serenely. "She is Kushina-chan's sister."

He cursed and threw his plate at the wall.

Mikoto really couldn't be any prouder.

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><p><em>Next time:<em>

_"Naruto." She said softly, gentling her voice. "It's okay. My name is Maika. I'm not going to hurt you. I protected you, remember?"_

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><p><strong>Me: The reviews! *throws confetti in the air*<strong>

**AnimePleasegood: Yay! I'm so happy you enjoyed it! Lolz, Maika and Itachi will get their time, I promise. XD. Itachi and Shisui are adorable dorks, although I'm sure they're none too pleased with that title. Maika-chan's growing up! She's nine years old now! Thanks for the review, hun!**

**bageltiger: Oh, thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

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**Me: Thanks to all my reviewers and favorites and followers! Oh, and flowers to my beta; she's awesome!**


	10. Naruto

**Me: Naruto does not belong to me**

**Maika: You've been taking your sweet time.**

**Me: *pouts***

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><p><em>Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family. ~Anthony Brandt<em>

**I.**

Fugaku eventually admitted defeat and their team stayed together.

When Maika learned of this, it was in an hour long rant that Shisui laid on her while Itachi simply watched her with that disappointed look that made her feel like the scum of the Earth.

At the end of the rant, Shisui paused, looked at her long-suffering face, and grinned, leaping forward to catch her in a truly massive bear hug. "You did good, Maika-chan." He whispered in her ear.

She smiled and hugged him back. A few seconds later, he released her and left her to Itachi's mercy.

Sighing, Maika glanced at Itachi, took in his rigid body language, and sat herself back down on the grass, preparing herself for a dressing down even more severe than Shisui's had been.

He let the silence stretch out for long, painful minutes before he said, "You challenged my father."

"Yes."

"You went behind our backs."

She grimaced. He just had to pick on that, didn't he? "Yes."

"You could have gotten us all in major trouble."

"But I didn't." Maika pointed out.

He gave her a look of quiet fury. "But you could have."

She sighed in defeat. You simply couldn't argue with Itachi. "Fine."

"You don't regret it." He noted.

"Nope." She said candidly.

Itachi rose to his feet and walked over to her. Maika looked up at her childhood friend without fear, meeting his obsidian eyes openly. He studied her for a long time, but she wasn't intimidated. She had never been intimidated by him.

Suddenly, he fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling her hair. Startled, she froze and then registered the gentle tremors that wracked her powerful teammate.

"I wouldn't have been able to stop Otou-san." He whispered into her ear, voice tormented. "I'm not strong enough."

At last, she understood: she had made him afraid. Regret staining her rose eyes, she let herself melt into his embrace, wrapping her arms around him.

"Ssshh." Maika gathered her chakra up and flung it around him like a blanket as he so often did to her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry."

Itachi closed his eyes, holding her closer against him. "You could have gotten hurt and I wouldn't have been able to do a single thing about it."

"I know, I know." She soothed, feeling his chakra slide against her own to enclose her in a protective layer. "I'm sorry."

He just shook his head and held her. They stayed like that for a long time.

When he finally pulled away, Itachi grinned at her, eyes lighting up with unexpected mischievousness. "Sasuke hero worships you, you know. He thinks you're the best thing since tomatoes, what with the way you stood up against Otou-san."

Maika groaned and buried her face against his shoulder.

**II.**

They trained together, as they had never done before under Juro-sensei.

Cruel as it may have been, some part of Maika was glad that their sensei was dead. He never would have been able to treat her as an equal to Itachi and Shisui, and she had always known that. The other part mourned him as one more precious person she had lost.

Shisui and Itachi mastered their Sharingan in no time at all, while she finally gained control of her chakra chains.

They were one of the best chunin teams in Konoha.

C-ranks.

B-ranks.

A-ranks.

Along the way, they taught and learned from each other.

Maika was wind and earth to Itachi's fire and water and Shisui's fire and electricity.

Needless to say, when her boys used the Grand Fireball Technique and she backed it up with a Wind Gale Technique, the results were devastating.

Shisui taught Maika speed and stealth. He showed her how to move like a blur and sneak behind an unsuspecting enemy.

Itachi taught Maika tactics and skill. He played shogi with her until she could beat him at least half of the times and tested his shurikenjutsu against hers.

She taught them both the basics of kenjutsu and fuinjutsu, how to evade and confuse sensors and their barriers.

They made jounin when Maika was ten years old. At her birthday, Itachi hugged her tight and pressed a pair of red jasper earrings into her hand.

Shisui became known for his Body Flicker Jutsu and speed.

Itachi became known for his genius and intellect in battle and out.

Maika became known for her bloody hair and the jasper stones that her opponents saw last.

**III.**

She met Kakashi a few weeks after she became a jounin at the Memorial Stone.

"Kakashi-sempai," She greeted quietly, laying a bouquet of red lilies in front of the monument.

"Maika-chan." He returned, staring desolately at the stone. "Congratulations, I heard you made jounin."

"Yes." She paused, tracing two names on the stone. "Do you think they would be proud of what I've become?"

Kakashi didn't have to ask who she was talking about. "I think they would be ecstatic." He murmured softly.

Maika nodded and they spent two hours together, quiet and filled with ghosts of people long gone.

**IV.**

It was October 10th and she was on patrol with Itachi, Shisui, and two other chunin. She was numb, cold, as she always was on this day and she knew her teammates kept a close eye on her.

A commotion caught her eye and she veered off, ignoring the chunins' protest.

A large crowd was gathered, screaming and shouting at a small, yellow bundle huddled against the wall.

Her blood turned to ice, a dark suspicion growing.

Maika leapt to the top of the building the small bundle was hugging and glanced down just as the little boy glanced up. She was barely aware that Itachi and Shisui had followed her.

Her pale pink eyes met cerulean blue eyes a mix of sky and ocean.

Namikaze Minato's eyes. Nii-san's eyes.

Stones hit her nephew's small body hard and a man charged out of the crowd, butcher's knife raised. Others followed him, various household weapons in their hands. A drop of Naruto's life-force dripped onto the floor.

Uzumaki Maika saw red.

Chitama flashed silver in the moonlight and warm blood spilled on the uneven pavement.

Just like it had done six long years ago when the moon shone red and a demon fox was released in the Village of Konohagakure.

**V.**

She never fully remembered what had happened that day.

Only that, when it was over, Itachi had his arms around her - restraining her, she realized dimly - , Shisui was barking orders at the frozen chunin, and civilians were bleeding out on the floor or screaming murder.

"Maika-hime." Itachi whispered into her ear, his quiet baritone cutting through her blood rage. "See to Naruto-kun."

She gritted her teeth, but sheathed Chitama and walked over to her nephew's trembling form. He hadn't moved from his position against the wall and stared at her with frightened blue eyes.

Maika knelt in front of him, taking care to appear nonthreatening. The child, just barely five years old, flinched away from her.

Her heart clenched.

"Naruto," She said softly, gentling her voice. "It's okay. My name is Maika. I'm not going to hurt you. I protected you, remember?"

He didn't say anything, but relaxed slightly, lulled by her kind pink eyes.

"I'm going to pick you up, okay?" Maika held out her arms, keeping her eyes on his firmly. "I won't hurt you, I promise."

Naruto wet his lips. "Promise?" He asked, young voice hoarse like he had been screaming. She hurriedly suppressed her anger before he could see it.

"Promise." She reassured, picking the painfully light boy up and holding him against her shoulder protectively. "I won't hurt you. No one's ever going to hurt you again."

Her nephew let out a soft sob and pressed his face against the crook of her neck. Maika tenderly stroked his back and was reminded of the last time she had held Naruto; he had been little more than a babe then, she thought bitterly.

She was a jounin nowadays. Maika's eyes narrowed, determination flaring. She wasn't weak, anymore. She would keep her promise to Kushina and Minato.

**VI.**

"Uzumaki Naruto is my charge now." Maika declared boldly in front of the entire Council, said boy happily asleep in her apartment.

No one dared to challenge her, not with Shisui of the Body Flicker and Itachi, Heir of the Uchiha Clan standing quietly behind her, fully matured Sharingan eyes spinning dangerously.

Maika's own eyes seemed to be glowing with an inner light, as was her body, seemingly wreathed in a subtle red aura.

More than one person remembered a fiery, violently loyal redhead challenging them fearlessly, years ago, for her precious people and applauded Kushina for how very alike her sister had turned out to be.

The Sandaime smoked his pipe and smiled.

**VII.**

Naruto woke up the next morning and wondered why his bed was so soft. It was normally hard as a rock, but he was so warm and comfortable. What had happened last night?

It was his birthday, he recalled and grimaced. His birthdays never turned out well. But, why wasn't he hurting and bruised everywhere?

Let's see, the villagers had chased him again; that was normal. He had ended up cornered and prepared himself for the beating to come and then...

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he was promptly greeted with a sunny desert ceiling. Eyes wide, he sat straight up and gawked around him.

He was sitting in a bed with cream sheets and his limbs were tangled in a warm, white blanket. The room he was in was really nice. They were brown rugs that looked pretty soft and chestnut furniture. There was even a tree with bright green leaves in the corner!

It definitely wasn't his own ugly, broken down apartment.

That's right. _She_ had saved him, that pretty girl with dark red hair called Maika. She had leapt from the sky like a crimson angel and sliced through all of his attackers with that shining blade, unbelievably fast and stunningly skilled. None of them had stood a chance, lasted less than three minutes.

When it was over, two boys had jumped down from nowhere and one of them had stopped the crimson angel, while the other one took care of the bleeding villagers. Naruto didn't know what the boy with long, black hair had said to the angel, but she had put away her sword and came to him.

He had been scared; terrified that she would turn on him - all the villagers called him a monster and monsters should be killed, right? But at the same time, he had been dazzled by the crimson angel with her rose pink eyes and pretty red jewelry and dark clothes splattered with blood. She had been frightening, but so, so beautiful.

Naruto remembered thinking, 'I'd rather die by her hands than those villagers.'

But, she hadn't killed him, and had, to his surprise, been very kind. When she had promised she wouldn't hurt him, he found himself believing her. Something in her eyes had been genuine, awfully honest and it would have been a crime to accuse her of lying to him, then.

The crimson angel had introduced herself as Maika and picked him up. Her hold had been gentle...warm. No one had ever held him like that; the people at the orphanage hated him. But, the angel's touch had been thoughtful, caring. She had felt safe.

After that, Naruto didn't remember much. He thought he might have fallen asleep on Maika; it had been a long time since he had felt safe. Was he in her home then? What was going to happen now? Would she throw him back in his apartment and disappear?

Gritting his teeth, he fought off his tears and threw the blanket off of him. Underneath, he was wearing the clothes he had been in yesterday. Naruto stood up on the carpet, it _was_ soft, and cautiously opened the door. He glanced around, but there wasn't anyone around. The blonde spotted a light to the right and moved towards it carefully.

Stepping into the light, Naruto found himself in a kitchen.

"Good morning, Naruto!" Maika said cheerfully.

He blinked. His savior was standing in front of the stove, wearing a cheerful yellow apron. She smiled at him, bright and sweet, and in the light of day, it was hard to connect the dark, formidable crimson angel with the radiant, lively girl in front of him.

"Good morning...Maika-chan." Naruto replied slowly.

She beamed at him. "Do you like pancakes?"

He nodded and she darted around the kitchen to place a plate stacked full of pancakes on a small, mahogany table with a vase of pretty flowers in the middle.

"Breakfast!" She told him, wandering back to the kitchen.

Dazed, Naruto could only sit in a chair and start eating pancakes. At the first spoonful, he started shoving the stuff into his mouth. He hadn't realized how hungry he was and the pancakes were some of the best things he'd tasted. What...was going on?

A few minutes later, Maika joined him at the table with her own plate. "Good?"

The blonde nodded. "They're really good!"

Maika smiled and ate her pancakes. "I know you must have questions, Naruto." She said gently. "Ask."

Naruto gulped and before he could stop himself, a torrent of questions left his mouth. "Why am I here? Who are you? Why'd you help me? Why are you feeding me? Do I owe you? Are you a ninja? Can I stay-"

He clamped his hand over his mouth, mortified. What had he done? Now, he had probably made Maika-chan angry - who would let a monster stay with them? - and oh God, there went his chances of being friends with her-

Low laughter cut off his thoughts and Naruto turned to see Maika smiling at him. "You're here, because this is your home. I'm Uzumaki Maika, your new guardian. I helped you, because I knew your parents. I'm feeding you, because you were hungry. You don't owe me anything. I am a ninja and you are perfectly welcome to stay."

Naruto stared blankly at her, trying to process the bucket of information she had just thrown at him.

...WHAT?!

There were a lot of things he could ask about, but what came out of his mouth was, "I can stay?" His voice was timid and weak despite himself.

Maika gazed at him with affectionate eyes. "You can stay."

Naruto launched himself across the table with a joyful cry and Maika caught him easily, chuckling softly.

It was good to be with family again.

**VIII.**

Naruto naturally had a lot of questions after the shock sank in.

"This is my home?" He asked, hugging a dark blue pillow to himself on a sofa.

Maika nodded, sitting opposite of him. "This was your parents' home, it is my home, and thus, it is your home."

"You said you knew my parents." Naruto said, looking around him in awe. His parents had once lived here.

"I did." She responded. "I'll tell you about them when you grow up a bit, but they were great people."

Naruto hesitated, but asked, "Why can't you tell me now?"

To his relief, Maika didn't look angry. "It's a secret, a big one, and if I tell you now, it'll put you _and_ me in danger." She explained.

He didn't understand that, but he didn't want Maika-chan in danger, so he let it go. "You're my new gar-den?"

"Guardian." She corrected gently. "And yes. I...convinced the Council to make me your guardian after yesterday's encounter."

"Oh." Naruto sorta got that, but... "Why not, earlier?" He whispered, hurt even though he knew it shouldn't be. Why couldn't Maika-chan do that before?

Her face softened and she crossed the room to sat down next to him and pull him into a hug. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I wasn't strong enough to protect you, before, and they didn't let me go anywhere near you."

Naruto clung desperately to her. "Why?!" He cried out. "Why?"

"Ssshh. It's okay, Naruto. I won't leave you." She murmured. "I won't leave you."

Sniffling, he pulled back to stare into her eyes. "Promise?"

Maika met his eyes squarely. "Promise."

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><p><em>Next time:<em>

_"I - I'm -" Naruto paused for a moment, before gathering up his courage and saying clearly, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"_

_"I'm Uchiha Sasuke." He said coolly. "Are you really Maika-san's little brother?"_

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><p><strong>Me: And now, the reviews!<strong>

**chibi-no-baka: Lolz, maybe. :P. Kakashi's been wandering here and there, off doing Anbu stuff. As for Danzo... she may be a jounin, but I don't think Maika to ready to take him on yet. Thanks for the review, hun!**

**NightlyRowanTree: I shall do my best! XD**

**ShikiUploadz: You make it sound so easy. But it's not. *pouts***

**SleepAroundTheClock: Yup, she does! No worries, you're not alone! When I was 9, I was a terrible child. Thanks so much for your review!**

**bageltiger: Lolz, that's great! I think she gets it from Kushina. *thumbs-up***

**Rosy Fire: Oh, thank you! Reviews are always, always welcome! But, err, I agree with you that Itachi is adorbs, but you can't kill him! What would Maika do?! Thanks for the review, sweetie!**

**Thoroughly Misguided: Pft! I would love to see the face Fugaku makes when he's presented with some cold water. Our little Maika and Itachi are growing up! And now I'm allowed to put in some more romance. I don't know. ^_^, thanks for your lovely review, dear reader!**

**Sonata Fuling: Glad you think so, darling! It took a while... but here you go!**

**AnimePleasegood: Well, they're pretty awesome even without my input! Yeah, Maika stuck it to that Fugaku! Mikoto is an awesome teacher, too! Did you like how things turned out for Naruto and Maika?! She can finally see her nephew! Lolz, I do. Sarada is an adorable, sly kunoichi already, and, really, Sasuke has always been a douche. Even Kasumi - from my other story, Amber Spirit - can't really save him much. But, anyhow, thanks for the review, hun!**

**Good Omens: ;D, it was. It's probably true though! I mean, Kushina is awesome. I sometimes preach about it. Thanks for the review, sweetie!**

**Wren: Kyaa! I'm sorry! Please don't cry! Exams kinda got in the way and then other stuff... but I updated Amber Spirit, so you should be okay? Right? Right?! *runs around panicking***

**Avarianna: Lolz, no prob, hun! My pleasure!**

**fanfictionnatic: Maika pushed through, didn't she? After everything that happened to her. *sniff* Our little girl is growing up! Ah, and so is Itachi. XD. Thanks for the review, sweetie!**

**AkemiMimi: Well, he was kinda strict, neh? I'll do my best!**

**Me: Okay! Thanks for all of my lovely reviews! Ah, and major thanks to my betas! Until next time~**


	11. Sacrifice

**Me: I do not own Naruto**

**Maika: Of course you don't.**

**Me: *smiles nervously* Err... please don't kill me? Warning: major angst, character death, etc. Ah, and please review and check out my blog!**

* * *

><p><em>Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend. ~Albert Camus<em>

**I.**

Naruto was a precious child. He laughed and smiled and played with all the warmth of the sun. He eventually decided on his own that Maika was his new big sister and referred to her as 'Onee-chan.' She had nearly shut down when he had first called her that, but decided to accept it in the end.

There was no need for the boy to know that she was his Aunt; that would bring up far too many questions that she didn't want to answer. Like Nee-san and Nii-san and the Kyubi... yeah, no. There were enough problems as it was.

Maika doted on him happily. She let him remake the guest room into his own, complete with bright colors and various frogs. She made him meals if she could and told bedtime stories to him at night. She watched over him, and when she had missions, she got Shisui and Itachi to.

Shisui and Naruto bonded easily. They were both pranksters, even if that side of the Uchiha was rather rusty, and had the same sunny personality. Shisui adored the blonde, and Naruto looked up to the brunette. Unfortunately, the rest of Konoha wasn't nearly as happy as the duo, especially when they were bombarded with pranks.

Itachi and Naruto didn't have quite the same connection, but they got along well, too. Itachi had plenty of experience with little boys and spent most of his time with his teammate's nephew instructing him how to throw shuriken and kunai and ninja 'tricks'. While Maika didn't necessarily like it, she let it be, as it was for the best.

Naruto was very happy most of the time, content and overjoyed with his new-found life, but he worried when she got sent on missions, but she kept her word. She always came back.

A promise was a promise, after all.

Things were going great... but change was on the horizon.

And it wasn't _positive_ change. Not in their eyes anyways.

**II.**

Maika bought Naruto to the Uchiha Compound a month after she became his guardian. It was... an interesting affair, as the introduction of children tended to be.

He and Sasuke Uchiha stared at each other while Itachi and Maika watched on in amusement on the sidelines. Well. They did hope the two would get along, but that was up to them.

Mikoto looked over them all and was painfully reminded of the time she and Kushina watched the introduction of Itachi and Maika. 'How time passes...' She mused quietly to herself, mind touching briefly on a plan that would make that time even shorter before flinching away.

"Who are you?" Sasuke spoke up first, eying the blonde suspiciously.

"I-I'm -" Naruto paused for a moment, before gathering up his courage and saying clearly, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto!"

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke." He said coolly. "Are you really Maika-san's little brother?"

Naruto grinned widely, chest puffing off with pride. "Yeah! Believe it!"

"Humph." Sasuke snorted, turning away dismissively. "I can't believe someone like _you_ is Maika-san's little brother."

Maika winced minutely while Itachi chuckled softly. Sasuke had never really gotten over his hero-worship, to the redhead's dismay

Predictably, Naruto raged. Loudly. "What are you trying to say?! Are you saying I'm not good enough, teme?!"

Itachi sighed. He knew his brother well enough to know that this was going to end badly. He did have the classic Uchiha pride, even at such a young age; he blamed their father.

Sasuke scowled darkly at the blonde. "That's exactly what I'm trying to say, dobe!"

"Why you - !" Naruto raised a threatening fist, Sasuke echoing the motion hastily.

"Enough!" Maika decreed firmly, just barely raising her voice. Instantly, both boys froze and turned to look at her with wide eyes. She gave them a stern look and pointed to the yard out back. "Go play ninja and no fighting."

They didn't dare argue.

"Very well done, Maika-chan." Mikoto complimented, eyes filled with amusement. It looked like Kushina's flare and fire prevailed, though it was tempered with Mikoto's own considerable control.

Maika simply shook her head while Itachi laughed lowly at her side. He thought this was funny, the jerk.

By the time they had left, though, Naruto and Sasuke had become fast friends, as young children would.

Maika wasn't certain she was satisfied with that conclusion or not. Those two had the potential to be utter hellions, she was sure of it.

**III.**

After that, Maika made sure Sasuke and Naruto spent a lot of time together, no matter if they were playing or laughing or fighting. She wasn't very picky. If they were going to be a terrible duo, then they were going to be a _good _terrible team.

She bought Naruto to the Uchiha compound sometimes, but, aware of the brewing violence in that place, more often than not made Itachi bring Sasuke to her apartment. It wasn't hard; her teammate wanted Sasuke out of that place as much as possible.

Maika was well aware of the trials Naruto would soon face, and he would need a strong base of friends. It helped that Sasuke was also someone she knew, was sure of. The boy wasn't cruel, wouldn't crush Naruto's spirit. He was versed in shinobi ways and, as the youngest son of Fugaku, would have quite a lot of political power.

If they were to become good friends... Naruto could greatly benefit from Sasuke's friendship.

And from Itachi's point of view, Sasuke could greatly benefit from Naruto's friendship.

The benefits went both ways, really.

Sasuke would need Naruto's sunshine soon. He would need a friend that wouldn't see him as the son of the Uchiha Head, wouldn't sugarcoat things for him. Naruto was honest, sometimes brutally so, a little slow on the uptake, but his loyalty was also something legends were made out of. Under her tutelage, Naruto wasn't half-bad at fighting either.

Maika was familiar enough with the darkness on the horizon; blood would follow.

_The only thing worse than rebellion is the thing that causes rebellion. ~Frederick Douglass_

**I.**

A year passed and Fugaku had finally had enough. He commanded Itachi join Anbu, order effective immediately, and his eldest son had no choice but to obey. Itachi almost slipped between her fingers, but she was better than that.

When she heard about it, Maika decided on the spot that she would go with him while Shisui remained a jounin. They both argued against her - Anbu was no joke - but she was stubborn. She was desperate. She hadn't fought for so long to let her teammates leave her for that shadowy, bloodstained world.

Itachi and Maika joined Anbu under Team Ro, under the command of Kakashi. She was twelve. He was thirteen. Too much, too soon, too young, but they didn't have a choice.

He was given the Cat mask while she was given the Fox mask.

It was ironic, in the most painful of ways.

Maika wondered if her teammates really thought she was oblivious to the tension that surrounded the Uchiha Clan, to the tension that surrounded _them_. Who did they think she was?

Peace never lasted forever. She had learned that when she was but four.

**II.**

Being Anbu was... tiring. Physically tiring, of course, but also mentally tiring. Maika clung to Itachi and Shisui and Naruto when she could, but it wasn't enough. The blood on her hands reminded her day and night just how easily she could lose them all.

Fast and dirty assassination... cold and inhuman torture... extended and stressful tracking... neutral and sinister surveillance... that was what she did in the Anbu Corps, and she didn't know how some of the veterans still possessed their sanity.

It was a frigid, cruel lifestyle. But necessary. Always necessary.

There were so many things in her life that were necessary, and yet...

Half a year passed, and Itachi became Anbu Captain. No one had cause to disagree for his skill was unmistakable. He had earned that position, even as he paid his soul. Itachi demanded Maika be put on his team - neither he nor Shisui trusted her to anybody else - and the Hokage agreed.

Maika laughed at Shisui's jokes and didn't mention the strain she could see on his face; she pretended she remained innocent because he needed her to. She traced the lines on Itachi's face that hadn't been there months ago and claimed she had nightmares so he would sleep with her; she knew he wouldn't get any rest otherwise.

Kushina had been right, years and years ago. At age twelve, Maika was the most skilled sensor ninja in the village. It definitely came in handy on missions, because the only time her team had to worry about ambushes was when she was unconscious or asleep, but...

She told no one of the daily meetings the Uchiha Clan held within their compounds and kept quiet about the increasing killing intent she sensed during those sessions. Not a word passed her lips on the corrosive bitterness that tainted the chakra of the Uchiha, the anger and the hate and the resentment.

When she was eight, Itachi had told her everything he had known about the Uchiha Clan's history, and Itachi had known practically everything, child genius that he was. When she had been even younger, he had murmured to her, in an attempt to get her mind off the bleakness of her past, about uprisings and revolutions.

Maika knew the signs of a stirring rebellion.

**III.**

"So... Fugaku won't relent?" The Sandaime looked out his window, taking a long draw of his pipe for comfort. He was far too old for this, but there was no one suitable for Hokage. Not yet.

"No, Hokage-sama." Itachi replied evenly, kneeling respectfully on the floor behind him "He intends for the coup d'état to go on regardless of the cost."

"I see." He sighed deeply, feeling regret pinch his heart. Sarutobi hadn't expected this, though he supposed he should have. The animosity in the Uchiha Clan had built up over time, not exploded overnight. No, it had been an accumulation of shimmering rage.

The friendly actions of the First could only have lasted so long before the Second's biased ones overshadowed them. As the Third, he should have done something about the situation, but he had ignored it in the hopes that it would resolve itself. Perhaps Minato... but he wasn't here now, couldn't help anyone. "Shisui?"

"Tensions are rising." The Uchiha said, voice tight. He knelt next to his former teammate, jaw clenched so tight it had to hurt. "It won't be long now." Before the Uchiha rose up on a tidal wave of blood that might wipe out the entire village.

"I will think on this. Continue to keep an eye on the situation. Dismissed." As of now, the Sandaime could think of no solution that would resolve this peacefully, but maybe tomorrow morning would bring something. A vain hope, but he was an old man, and he was allowed to hope.

Outside the door, Shisui stopped Itachi with a light, careful touch on his shoulder. The younger shinobi glanced at him questioningly, the weariness of the past weeks resulting in heavy bags under his eyes and darkness in dark eyes.

"Ita-kun..." The name was almost foreign on Shisui's tongue; it had been so long since he had called Itachi that. The upcoming revolt had stolen away his humor, his optimism, but this had to be said. "About Maika-chan..."

Itachi pressed his lips together tightly, his hands tightening into fists. It was evident that he had already thought about this taboo topic, that he had considered it for a long, long time already. "I know." He whispered hollowly. "I know."

Maika had lost her village, her parents, her sister and brother. She had lost her sensei, and for far too long, lost her brother. What would it do to her to lose her teammates?

**IV.**

Shisui went out on a mission with a relative. When he returned, the relative was dead, and Shisui's chakra had _changed._

It was a subtle change; most people would never have picked up on it. Maika had never been 'most people'. This was her _teammate_, her _childhood friend_, of course she knew. Of course she did.

His chakra was darker... colder... bleaker. She wanted to reach out, to pull him back forcibly from the abyss, to tell all of them that she _knew, _to stop hiding from her, stop protecting her from the monster under the bed, stop being such honorable, stoic martyrs!

But Maika did nothing. For Naruto, for Kushina and Minato, she couldn't pull herself into this Uchiha mess. She _couldn't_ die, because if she did, her nephew would have no one. No one at all. And she couldn't do that to Naruto, who looked up to her, adored her, considered her his beloved older sister.

So, she continued to watch and day by day, Maika felt the fragile peace of her village, of her world shatter, piece by piece. She rarely saw Shisui, anymore, and it had been months since she had seen Mikoto. She saw Itachi daily, but he kept his distance; when he talked to her or touched her, it was purely work related.

_Mikoto-sama... Shisui-kun... Itachi-kun... please don't leave me!_

It was a cry from her scarred, broken, frightened heart that she would never voice, because to do so, would be to bind them as certainly as if she had used her chakra chains. And that, she would never do. Maika knew what it was to be helpless, motionless, and it wasn't a fate she would force onto others.

Not them, not the people she so dearly loved.

**V.**

A battle was being fought outside the village. Uchiha Shisui and Shimura Danzo. No one could feel it, no one else knew. Just her.

Maika was smoothing over Naruto's hair and pressing a kiss to his forehead when she felt her teammate's chakra falter. She came to a dead standstill. No. No. Not him, please not him, he couldn't leave her like this - !

"Onee-chan?" Innocent, naive Naruto asked.

She forced a smile with years of experience in subterfuge, both in missions and out, masking the panic coiling in her most hidden heart. "Hush. Go to sleep, Naruto. Onee-chan has something to do, but she'll be back, okay?"

"Okay." Naruto snuggled into his orange blankets with a contented smile, and when he looked up, Maika was already gone in a swirl of leaves.

_You can sacrifice and not love. But you cannot love and not sacrifice. ~Kris Vallotton_

**I.**

"There is no way to stop the Uchiha's coup d'état anymore..." Shisui told Itachi quietly, looking out over the Naka River. "A civil war will happen in the Leaf, and the other countries will take advantage of it to attack."

He paused for a moment and then added on softly, "... It will turn into a war." Something both of them feared with all of their being.

"A war you intend to stop." A quiet alto voice commented. "One way or the other."

Startled, Shisui spun around just as she landed on the ground without a sound, his single, remaining eye widening. Oh. And despite the painful situation, a wryly smile temporarily touched his lips. He supposed he should have known better than to underestimate her.

Maika stood a few feet away from Itachi, her eyes steady on his own, and no surprise on that vibrant face at his Mangekyo Sharingan. The faint dusk light shown on her dark red hair, and for the first time in his life, Shisui realized with a start that Maika was beautiful.

Shisui had known before, but it had been a quiet whisper in the back of his head, barely formed and not acknowledged at all. She was Uzumaki Maika, his precious teammate, a girl he saw as a cherished sibling he was meant to protect. But now, with only one eye, he could see it clearly, could even admire it in his last few minutes.

Over the years, his female teammate's hair had darkened even further, the color akin to the dark heart of a ruby and the strands held in place with a crimson ribbon. Her eyes shone with subtle inner strength and sorrow, the pale pink color stunning in the dim light regardless of the tears that he knew would soon stain those same eyes.

She wore a vivid jade dress, and Shisui knew without asking that she had been with Naruto before she had left. The only weapon she had on her was Chitama, strapped to her waist with a red ribbon, but it wasn't needed; neither Shisui nor Itachi would ever willingly let anyone harm her. Ever.

The wind blew gently against her in the strained silence, yet warm with day's touch, and her unbound hair and her jasper earrings fluttered in the breeze along with her dress. The Naka River churned constantly below them, the spray of the water cold against their skin.

For a brief second, Shisui regretted what he had to do.

Maybe in another life... another world...

"Maika-hime..." Itachi whispered helplessly, and Shisui was abruptly reminded why else it would never have worked.

He had never truly been able to define Maika and Itachi's relationship, but he knew it was a primal, unbreakable bond.

She didn't take her eyes off Shisui despite Itachi's call. "How much of a fool... do you think I am, Shisui-kun?" Maika asked dangerously.

Shisui winced. "How long have you known?" With her abilities and intelligence, he should have known that she would figure it out, but he had hoped that she wouldn't. It had blinded him... but that was okay.

It gave him time to say goodbye.

"I've always known." Maika replied and he nodded, resigned. Shisui didn't want her caught up in this lethal mess, but if their positions were reversed, he knew he wouldn't have hesitated for a tenth of a second.

"When I tried to use stop the coup d'état by using Kotoamatsukami, Danzo stole my right eye. He doesn't trust me... I decided to protect the village my own way." He said resolutely, turning back to Itachi. "He'll probably try to get my left eye as well..."

Shisui reached up and took out his own eye without flinching. He was a shinobi. He was a Konoha shinobi. This was the least he could do after his failure. The pain was nothing to what he knew his two treasured teammates would soon go through. "I'll give it to you before it happens."

In the darkness, he felt Itachi tense, almost to the breaking point, and smiled blindly at him. "You're my best friend, the only one I can ask this. Please protect the village and the Uchiha's name." He wasn't strong enough, but Itachi... Itachi could do it. He knew he could.

Turning to where he sensed Maika's chakra, steady and luminous and as familiar as his own, Shisui reached out an open hand towards her. "Forgive me, Maika-chan." For if Itachi was his best friend, then Maika was the little sister he never had, a loved life force he wanted always to keep safe from the cruel gales from afar.

A heartbeat of silence and then a quiet, tired sigh that spoke of heart's blood being spilled. Her footsteps were quiet, even to his enhanced and heightened senses, and a moment later, a soft, calloused hand slid into his own.

"You're such an idiot, Shisui-kun." Maika whispered, the faintest hint of a sob in her voice, and drew him into a hug.

"Please, protect Konoha." He begged and felt her stiffen at the farewell hidden in such a plea.

"...I promise." She said at last, and he let himself relax, hug her back so tight it was almost as if he could stay.

Shisui let himself cling to the warmth and kindness that was his female teammate before reluctantly drawing back. The clock wouldn't stop and the rebellion wouldn't stop and that was okay.

It had to be okay.

"Take care of Maika-chan for me, okay, Ita-kun?" He gave his widest, most cheerful grin to his brother in everything but blood, heard him choke.

"I promise." Itachi swore solemnly, voice breaking slightly with misery, and Shisui nodded, satisfied.

He was still grinning when he surrendered to the cold, lonely embrace of death.

Promises were sacred.

**II.**

"Onee-chan, are you okay?" Naruto asked her later, the news of Uchiha Shisui's 'suicide' having spread like wildfire through the village. They were blaming Itachi, the bastards; did _no one_ have eyes?!

Itachi was hurting.

Like Maika was hurting.

She looked at her 'little brother' and managed a smile through the ice water in her veins. It hurt, her heart hurt, she hurt, but she had to be okay because everything depended on her being okay. She couldn't break, couldn't cry.

_Shisui was dead_.

Naruto hadn't taken Shisui's death well, having burst out in a crying fit, but had still found the heart to try and comfort her. Her nephew truly would grow up to be an amazing man; Kushina and Minato would be proud.

_Oh, God. Nee-san, Nii-san..._

"I'll be fine, Naruto. Go to sleep." She pushed him gently into his bedroom, blinking back the tears, and he went, looking worried.

Maika took a shower and put on a light, long white dress. It wasn't her style - she liked light and color and life - but it suited this dark, dark night. She slipped on her earrings and combed her hair. She sat on her bed and waited.

Hours passed and the moon rose high into the night. Still, she waited.

Finally, in the dead of the night, the shadows stirred and someone stepped into her room.

"Hello, Itachi-kun." Maika said calmly.

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><p><em>Next time:<em>

_Kissing Maika... felt like coming home, as easy as breathing._

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><p><strong>Me: Eek! Please don't kill me! It had to happen! I cried buckets of tears over this!<strong>

**AkemiMimi: Umm... I updated...? *cries***

**chibi-no-baka: Hahaha... haha... no? ****Future romance scenes seem to be coming up... sorta. Those villagers were technically attacking a defenseless child, so I'm pretty sure the Sandaime would just "accidentally" lose the papers detailing the event. Well, Sasuke and Naruto's rivalry did start early. Mm-hm. Thanks for the review, hun!**

**AnimePleasegood: Naruto and Maika got their time! Baby Naruto does need hugs. I'm always appalled by how the villagers treated him. Itachi... is a sweetheart, we all know it. He totally needs hugs, too. Shisui... *cries loudly*. Sasuke and Naruto did indeed have that fight, although they seem to be getting along now.**

**Hmm... for Naruto Gaiden, I do like Mitsuki. He's a strange guy, but he's fun. Sarada... poor girl's going through some traumatic events. But, lolz, Sasuke with a cell phone. Technology in Naruto! Thanks so much for the review, darling!**

**Rosy Fire: Jasper is very pretty. Lolz, the internet contains many strange things. Thanks for the review, hun!**

**Elise477: Yup, j'ai toujours pensé que le bébé Naruto vraiment besoin de quelqu'un dans son enfance. ****Et Maika... eh bien, nous savons tous qu'elle a vraiment besoin de quelqu'un trop. Sasuke et Naruto rencontrer! Et pourtant, Sasuke ne get over son héros-culte. Merci pour l'examen, ma chérie! Ah, et c'est traduit, par conséquent désolé pour tout les fautes de grammaire ou de choses!**

**fanfictionnatic: Oh, thank you! Naruto is very happy to be with Maika again, though she's struggling a bit. Thanks so much for the review, dear!**

**KimKat95: *blushes* All these compliments will go to my head! But, yes, Maika and Naruto are reunited. Here's your update, and thanks for the lovely review!**

**The bunny always dies first: Thanks for the review, hun, and here ya go~**

**bageltiger: Oh, yes! Thanks for the review!**

**Kurayami Kazuo Riddle: Hola, me alegra que te guste! Ah... la masacre de Uchiha. *lloro* Creo que crecerá mucho durante esos períodos de tiempo, sí. Oh, no te preocupes. Esto se traduce, así que mis disculpas para los errores. Gracias tanto por el commentario, amorcito!**

**osnapitzlivia: Shisui is... is... *****cries again*. Itachi and Maika are adorbs. And very, very close. Kushina and Minato dies. *cries some more* Naruto's back with Maika though! Juro-sensei... is dead, too. *sniffs* Mikoto... is awesome. Cause she's Mikoto. Thanks so much for the review, hun!**

**Juliedoo: I'm glad to hear that, dear, but the Unholy Trinity - I love the sound of that, btw - is broken now. *more tears* But... but... but things don't work out! But Maika and Naruto still have each other. Thanks for the review!**

**Fireboy19795: Thank you very much for your feedback! Something different from canon... well, of course! Otherwise, what would be the fun of writing a story?**

**Melissa Grey: Actually, in the anime, they're a pretty shade of blue. Search it up, hun?**

**NightsBlackRose13: Here's your update! :o. I made you cry? I'm so sorry... though if you say it's alright, I'll feel a little proud, too. Thanks for the review, darling!**

**Me: I swear this chapter was terrible to write. I cried so many times. *sniffs again* Review and take a look at my blog, please... ah and thanks to my beta. Until next time...**


	12. Aftermath

**Me: I do not own Naruto!**

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><p><em>Kiss me and you will see how important I am. ~Sylvia Plath<em>

**I.**

"Maika-hime." Itachi stepped out of the shadows, feeling absolutely wretched. He had just killed his family with the painful exception of his little brother, carried the unmistakable blood of his blood on his hands. For one of the few times in his life, he found himself unable to meet that rose gold gaze, overcome with shame.

A pause, those perceptive eyes on him. Assessing him. Judging him. Finally, "Come here, Itachi-kun." It was a command, nothing less, and he found himself helpless to disobey.

Sucking in a breath, he focused his activated eyes on the lush cream carpet as he walked over to his soon-to-be-former teammate's bed. His guilt, his agony, his burden forced him to his knees in front of Maika, his eyes still firmly focused on the ground.

Gentle hands cupped the sides of his face, softly tilted his jaw and directed his eyes up. Unable to resist, Itachi looked up and met tender pink eyes. There was no censure on that face, no hatred or contempt. No rejection.

"Shh." Maika whispered, bending down to nuzzle his cheek with her own. "It's okay, Itachi-kun. It's okay."

He shuddered, eyes falling close. "No, no, it's not." Desperately, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing his cheek against her abdomen, and breathed in her scent, calm jasmine and golden peach with a touch of steel. It was uniquely _hers._

In silent answer, Maika tilted his chin up gently and pressed her soft lips against his, the pressure light, undemanding.

Itachi's breath caught in his throat, his entire body trembling against hers. Kissing Maika... felt like coming home, as easy as breathing. She tasted sweet, like those peaches she liked to eat, and autumn pumpkin. Delicious; he wanted more, wanted everything.

Instinctively, he wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and rose to his feet, pressing her closer to him. She melted into him, gripping the back of his neck with both hands. He teased her bottom lip and she gasped, allowing him entrance to her mouth.

Her taste was addictive, and Itachi found himself kissing her over and over again, letting her come up only for air. Not knowing what he was doing, he pushed her lightly back onto the bed and ended up sprawled on top of her, held up only by his elbows.

Sometime in the process, he felt himself growing dizzy, the edges of his mind blurring. When Itachi finally wrestled control back over himself, both of them were breathless, and he thought he might have forgotten his own name.

He stared hopelessly into hazy pink eyes. "I can't give you what you want." He breathed in despair. "I can't give you what you need." What she deserved.

Maika shook her head, unafraid of his dominant position. "You're you, Itachi-kun." She said simply. "You're all that I want, all that I need."

His heart clenched. "Don't." Itachi pleaded. "Don't say that." He couldn't stand it, wouldn't be able to bear it.

_He was going to leave her._

Itachi didn't deserve such loyalty.

She just shook her head again, the earrings he had given her jingling, and touched her hand to his face, caressed it sweetly. "I'm yours. I've always been yours." As far as they were concerned, no matter what the outside world believed.

Flinching sharply, Itachi collapsed over her. "I don't want to be yours." He whispered into the nape of her neck, his body wracked with tremors born of guilt, pain, want.

There were so many wrong ways that she could have interpreted the statement, but she understood. She ever understood. "I know." She pulled him down until every inch of their bodies touched. "I know."

He shook his head in torment and covered her mouth with his own, poured everything he had into his kiss. For lost minutes in the darkness, Itachi gave Maika everything he had been, everything he was and everything he ever would be.

**II.**

When the time came - because time didn't stop for anyone no matter how painful it might be - Maika pressed her face into the crook of his neck. She breathed in his scent and silently cursed every deity she knew even as she begged them to be kind to her one remaining teammate.

"Watch over Sasuke. Please." Itachi ran his fingers through her hair, voice strained with the upcoming pain of separation.

She closed her eyes for a moment, but opened them again. If this was the last time she would see Itachi, she wasn't going to miss a second of it. "I will. I promise."

His small smile was painful, his Sharingan eyes moving over her face. _'Memorizing me,'_ she realized. Imprinting her in his mind.

Maika tried to do the same, smoothing her fingertips over Itachi's face, taking in the immaculate skin, the dips and creases. The past few months seemed to have aged him by decades, but he was still handsome, regal in a way that she had never known anyone else to be.

"I have to go." He said, but didn't stop her, just as greedy for their last few moments together as she was.

She smiled faintly. "I know." She stared up into his eyes fearlessly. "Do it." Itachi would never hurt her.

He hesitated, fingers tightening on her red sheets. The ones she had originally bought to match his Sharingan eyes. The irony was bittersweet. "I promised." And promises... promises were all they had left.

"And I give you leave, just this once." Maika inhaled his scent once more, told herself to remember it. Dark chocolate and sandalwood with a hint of cashmere wool. It made her heart ache.

Misery flickered in those eyes tainted with blood, but Itachi was an expert in doing what had to be done despite his own personal thoughts on the matter. It was what made him such a good shinobi, what tortured him when all was said and done. He nodded and his Sharingan eyes spun.

Maika fell willingly into the darkness and a minute later, he was gone from her bedroom, leaving no trace of his presence but for the mussed sheets.

It would be long, long years before she saw him again.

**III.**

When Maika woke the next morning, the entire Uchiha Clan, with the exception of Uchiha Sasuke, had died by the hands of Uchiha Itachi. He was branded as a traitor, a murderer, a monster.

She didn't bother trying to correct them; they would never understand. Even she didn't know everything... but faith was stronger than most people truly gave credit for. Instead, she bundled up Naruto and headed for the hospital. Maika kept her promises, and she, of all people, would not fail little Sasuke now.

"Onee-chan?" The blonde questioned, looking up at her with bruised, confused eyes. Shisui's death had been mere days ago, and these blows kept coming one after another.

"Yes, Naruto?" She replied calmly, jumping onto the next roof with ease.

"Why..." He hesitated, hurt flickering on his face. "Why did Itachi-nii-san do that?" Naruto couldn't understand, didn't want to understand.

'That'. The Uchiha Massacre. Blood and betrayal and nightmare.

Maika was silent for long moments, absently running her hand through her brother's blonde hair. "I don't know, Naruto." She said finally, her smile pained. "If you ever meet him again, why don't you ask him that and tell your Onee-chan what he said?"

Naruto nodded firmly and that was that.

**IV.**

"Now, remember, Naruto, Sasuke's taken a shock so be gentle, okay?" Maika coached as they approached the young boy's room, her footsteps silent on the hard floor despite her heeled boots.

"Hai, Onee-chan." Naruto said obediently, twisting this way and that for a glimpse of his dark-haired friend.

She inclined her head smoothly and slid open the hospital door. Naruto inhaled sharply, paling as cerulean eyes fell on the patient inside. Despite Maika's warnings, he hadn't expected...

Sasuke sat upright on his bed, face blank and an IV in his arm. His head was bowed, his eyes dull obsidian. Dressed in the white hospital clothes, he looked fragile, breakable. He didn't look up, even though he must have heard the door open.

Without another word, Naruto approached his friend carefully. Pausing beside his bed, he took a second to look into Sasuke's black eyes. The boy didn't react.

Naruto set his jaw, determination flaring like fire in his eyes, and climbed on to Sasuke's bed. He hugged his non-responsive friend, worry flowing on his face mingled with resolve.

For a long, long time, Sasuke didn't respond. But then...

Slowly, ever so slowly, Sasuke reciprocated, moving jerkily to hug the blonde back. His eyes remained dry and hollow.

"Hey... Hey." Naruto whispered warmly. "I'm here, Sasuke."

The dark-haired boy began to shake, his eyes filling with tears long suppressed.

"I'm here." Naruto repeated softly.

Sasuke broke down, crying into his friend's shoulders. Sobs rocked him, the tears of a boy whose heart was broken, shattered, crushed beneath a ruthless foot. A boy who had lost his entire family within the span of a night and watched his idolized brother turn into a monster and saw his world come crumbling down

Naruto just tightened his arms and let him cry it out, patting his back reassuringly.

At the door, Maika smiled slightly, equal parts glad and wistful. A picture flashed into her mind, that of a dark-haired Uchiha child comforting a newly-awakened Uzumaki girl. Had it really been so long? It felt like it had only happened yesterday...

Backing out, she closed the door behind her. Neither boy noticed.

**V.**

Maika tracked down Sasuke's doctor without effort and pounced on him without hesitation. "How is he?" She demanded at once, wasting no time on the pleasantries. There was a time and a place for politeness.

The middle-aged man sighed and rubbed a hand down his face, looking exhausted. "Physically? Stable, for now." He replied. "It's his mental state that's the problem."

She nodded, unsurprised. "Can he leave the hospital?" She asked, point-blank.

To the man's credit, he didn't startle. "Yes. But for him to go back to the Uchiha Estates..."

"He won't be going back there." Maika stated, rose eyes flashing. No way in hell was she letting him return to the scene of his nightmare for him to relive it over and over again.

The doctor gave her a peculiar glance, but didn't ask. "Then he should be fine, provided he has enough emotional support. You're going to have to go through the Council, though." He warned.

She grinned then, sharp and deadly. "That won't be a problem."

He gulped, making the careful decision not to ask.

A few minutes later, Maika walked back to Sasuke's room, his signed release form in her hand. Knocking once on the door, she slid it open and entered the room.

Naruto and Sasuke were still the same position as when she had left them, but Sasuke had stopped crying, staring at her with now clear eyes.

"Maika-san." Sasuke greeted, his voice hoarse but steady. She was relieved to note that he seemed not to care that she was Itachi's teammate, but even if he had, she would still have given him this choice. Perhaps he had forgotten, choosing not to remember.

"Sasuke." She glided across the room to stand at his bed, her eyes soft. "You can leave the hospital now." Leave the white walls and distant doctors and sympathetic nurses.

He tensed and Naruto tensed with him. Ignoring their reactions, she went on before he could drown back in the nightmare, "You can go back to the Uchiha Estate," - Sasuke flinched openly - "or you can come live with me and Naruto."

The traumatized boy blinked while Naruto's face split open in a wide smile. "You hear that, teme? You can live with us!"

Maika smiled gently at the boys. "Well? What do you say?"

Sasuke glanced first at her, then at the bouncing blonde beside him, and back at her. "I think..." He paused before plunging on bravely. "I think I'd like to live with you guys." He managed a small, wane smile.

"Yeah!" Naruto whooped, throwing his arms up with his customary enthusiasm.

"But..." Sasuke looked at Maika, worry in his eyes. Even at such a young age, he knew the ugly truth about politics. She found that unbearably sad, for Itachi had been the same. "What about the Council? Will they let me?"

Maika laughed sweetly, reaching out to run a hand through the boy's dark locks. "Don't you worry about that, Sasuke. I'll take care of it."

He believed her. There was just something in her eyes that gave him the conviction that she would follow through with her word. A little something that reminded Sasuke of his Okaa-san.

**VI.**

"I am claiming guardianship of Uchiha Sasuke." Maika announced calmly to the Council, just as she had nearly a year ago. Except, this time, Itachi and Shisui weren't here to back her up. One was a missing-nin who had killed his entire Clan bar his little brother, and the other was dead by a means only said missing-nin and she knew.

Not that it truly mattered anymore.

The Council exploded into protests and accusations and chaos. The fools. Did they really think Uzumaki Maika would let them mold Sasuke to their will just like that? She waited patiently for the screaming and shouts to end before reaching into her pocket and taking out a scroll.

Into the quiet chamber, she read clearly from the Will of Uchiha Mikoto that if she, her husband, and her eldest son were dead, custody of Sasuke was to go to Uzumaki Maika. Her mentor had placed trust in Maika and she would do her very best to uphold that trust.

Silence reigned; the Council stunned speechless. For all that every one of them had heard reports of the little Uzumaki girl's close relationship with the former Uchiha matriarch, they had never expected _this. _Hadn't factored it into their plans, and that was their mistake.

Maika smiled prettily and walked out the door to go pick up Sasuke's belongings, mind already whirling over what modifications she had to add to her apartment. There was a big difference between two people living there and three, after all. This battle was hers, even if the war hadn't been won yet.

Along the way, she casually placed her Anbu resignation form in front of the Sandaime. The only reason she had gone into the accursed program was because of Itachi, and he had been the only reason she had stayed. Now that he was gone and she had two boys to look after, there was nothing to keep her there.

The Hokage picked up the form and smiled sadly. 'My poor child...it seems that fate truly is conspiring against you...'

_Absolute silence leads to sorrow. It is the image of death. ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau_

**I.**

Recovery was a slow, long process. Maika gave both Naruto and Sasuke a week off from the Academy. No one dared to protest when faced with her death glare and chilly smile and burning eyes. She had learned more than politics from Mikoto, it seemed.

For the first three days, Sasuke slept with Naruto in his little bed. Neither complained, despite the former's nightmares. By the third day, Maika had bought two single beds and gotten rid of the old bed. Sasuke had thanked her quietly, and she said nothing about finding the two sleeping in the same bed more often than not when she came to wake them up for breakfast.

In the daytime, Sasuke was numb, monotone. He did what she asked him to do, followed Naruto around, and when there was nothing else to do, curled up in a sofa and stared blankly at the wall. Naruto tried to get the Uchiha to react, to no avail, but eventually decided to simply be there for his friend.

Nighttime was a different story. Sasuke broke down at night, screaming abuse at Itachi, crying out for his dead parents. Naruto and Maika did what they could, but they couldn't completely take away his demons. Some evil couldn't be ignored, couldn't be fought, could only be endured.

Still, they did their best. Naruto slept with Sasuke after the nightmares because having someone with him calmed Sasuke down, and Maika made hot chocolate for them all, consoling him when he needed it. The jounin knew from personal experience that having someone fuss over you was stifling and unwanted.

Finally, on the morning of the fifth day, came the conversation that Maika had been expecting.

"I'm going to kill him." Sasuke declared over breakfast, tomato and sausage.

Maika paused, looking at the grimly determined boy in front of her with deceptively tranquil eyes. Naruto frowned, a piece of ramen hanging from his mouth before he sucked it in, chewing and swallowing rapidly.

"Itachi?" Naruto asked warily.

Sasuke nodded, eyes hard.

"Are you sure?" Naruto furrowed his brow, brutally honest.

Sasuke scowled. "Of course I'm sure! He killed my entire clan!"

"Yeah, but why?" Naruto pressed.

"Why?" Sasuke blinked, unprepared for that question.

"Yeah, why? It doesn't sound like something he would do." Naruto pointed out.

"He said it was to test himself. To test his power." Sasuke stalled, mind cringing away from the memory of the night. "He said that it was all a mask."

Maika narrowed her eyes. 'Itachi-kun, you idiotic, moronic, stupid, foolish martyr!' With some effort, she managed to keep her face blank. She had known that Itachi adored his little brother, but to choose this manner of leaving...

Naruto snorted. "Mm-hm. That sounds like Itachi all right." He said sarcastically.

"Then why would he murder our family!?" Sasuke snarled, bolting to his feet in agitation.

"Sasuke, calm down." Maika intercepted soothingly, meeting the young boy's upset black eyes with her peaceful ones. "If you truly do want to kill Itachi," She forced herself to choke out, "then you'd better find out why he massacred your clan in the first place, right?"

Sasuke nodded reluctantly and she pressed her advantage. "How about you find out why he did it first, and then kill him? Wouldn't that make more sense?"

"Yeah! That sounds better!" Naruto nodded in agreement, eyes bright. "Right, Sasuke?"

"You think so?" Sasuke questioned cautiously.

"Believe it!" The blonde grinned sunnily.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but inclined his head in acceptance. "Alright." He said, resolve flashing in his eyes. "That's what I'm going to do."

"I knew you had it in you, teme!"

"Hn. Dobe."

"What did you say?"

Maika allowed herself a ruthlessly satisfied smile that her boys didn't see. 'Yes. That'll do.' She had no intention of seeing Itachi die. Not now, not ever.

**II.**

Sasuke settled in after that, bickering with Naruto, obeying Maika, pitching in with the housework, and joining in on the training Maika was already drilling into Naruto.

Everything seemed to have calmed down.

Maika knelt in front of the Memorial Stone, eyes dark and void of joy. Her ruby red hair blew in the breeze, her hands clenched at her side.

Naruto had been so preoccupied with Sasuke that he had forgotten his Onee-chan had just lost both of her teammates. Sasuke was far too deep in his own sorrow to have even realized or noticed at all.

That was okay. It was the way she wanted it.

This side of her...it was the one that she didn't want her boys to ever see.

Uzushiogakure was dust on the wind.

Okaa-san and Otou-san rested in the ground.

Nee-san was dead, killed by childbirth and the Kyubi.

Nii-san's soul had been eaten by the Shinigami.

Juro-sensei had died for the Village.

Shisui had killed himself.

Itachi was a missing-nin.

Maika rose to her feet and sought out Kakashi.

**III.**

Kakashi wasn't surprised when he opened the door and found himself face to face with his old subordinate.

He said nothing and she said nothing, but he stepped aside to let her in to his apartment.

Kakashi closed the door and Maika fell into his arms.

She cried silently, not a sound falling past her lips.

Kakashi held her quietly, letting her weep it out. He was one of the few people who had caught on to the loss of Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi and what it must have meant for Uzumaki Maika.

He felt a strange kinship with the young girl in his arms despite the age difference. They had both lost their teams, their loved ones, their hearts... in the most brutal of ways.

It was simultaneously comforting to know that you weren't alone and painful to know that the world really was that cruel.

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><p><em>Next time:<em>

_"Give me Uchiha Sasuke." Orochimaru demanded, in the forest right outside of Yugakure._

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><p><strong>Me: Okay! I've been a bit busy recently, so this update has been a little late. Reviews!~<strong>

**Juliedoo: *sobs with you* I know how you feel, sweetie, I know how you feel. Danzo needs to die, the stupid meddler. Oh, that it was. Totally awesome. Thanks for the review, darling!**

**AkemiMimi: Here you go, thankfully it's a bit better than the last chapter. Sorta. We can cry together. Thanks for the review!**

**Melissa Fairy: Oh, I know, it was a terrible cliffhanger. Here's the resolution. :3, thanks for the review!**

**chibi-no-baka: *smiles smugly* Cliffhangers are awesome. No, Maika doesn't know the *truth*, not the complete version of it, but she does know Danzo's involved. And she believes in Itachi, no matter what.**

**As for the villager suspicion, not many people remember that Maika was teammates with Itachi. They forgot, during the time with Anbu and all that. Plus, she's the Fourth Hokage's sister-in-law and hence put on a peddle-stool, not that she really cares or notices.**

**Yes to the first question, maybe to the second. Thanks for the thought-provoking review, darling!**

**Avarianna: You're very welcome! Hope you like this chapter, too!**

**The bunny always dies first: Hmm... things are going to change. Slowly. But the Uchiha Massacre happens anyways, yes. Thanks for the review!**

**osnapitzlivia: I know, hun, I know. Shisui is in a better world now, looking over his teammates. Thanks for the review, darling!**

**SleepAroundTheClock: Oh, I was crying. Here's your update, hope you enjoy!**

**KimKat95: Well, Itachi's gone. But Sasuke now has a family. Sorta. I'm so happy you enjoy my writing, I hope you like this chapter as well! Thanks for the review, hun!**

**Rosy Fire: I know how you feel, sweetie. I do. He's in a better world now... pft, can you just imagine him with angelic wings and snickering over an oblivious Itachi or Maika? And yes, they do get a kiss. :3, thanks for the review!**

**Guest: *sniffs* It's okay, hun. Things lighten up. Sorta. Thanks for the review!**

**ShikiUploadz: No! Bad! Put those away! Happy ending? For Sasuke, kinda, I guess. He doesn't lose everything this time around. Thanks for the threatening review~ :P**

**AnimePleasegood: You're welcome and thank you very much for your review! A lot of those questions are going to be answer later on, but Maika does have a very good idea of what the Massacre was really about. Sasuke looking at Maika in a big sister way... maybe. There will be differences from the original story, don't worry! Thanks for the review, hun!**

**CharitianaX: *cries with you* It's okay, sweetie. It's okay.**

**kksambo: Yup, they kiss! She did think about that, but remember, Danzo's also the guy that ended up indirectly murdering Shisui and if they meet, she'll probably just try to kill him. Maika's loyal to Naruto as well as Itachi, and her joining an organization that's trying to kill him would set off her instincts like nothing else. Plus, she only really trusts herself to raise him. She'll see Itachi later, don't you worry about that. Thanks for the review, darling!**

**Regin: I'm overjoyed that you like my story! Here's your update, hope you enjoy!**

**Me: Alright! So many reviews, thank you all! Thanks to my betas as well, cause they're awesome. Also, review and check out my blog?**


	13. Academy

**Me: I do not own Naruto**

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><p><em>Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne<br>_

**I.**

Time passed. Naruto and Sasuke turned nine. Maika turned thirteen.

Sasuke now referred to her as 'Nee-san' and scampered all over her yard, wrestling with Naruto, while she played her piano. She was getting better at it, too.

They were young, still. So young.

But she was no fool. Something was coming... and her boys would inevitably be in the pathway of the crashing wave.

Maika gave Naruto calligraphy to practice in anticipation of fuinjutsu and trained him in chakra exercises. Her brother, as she now truly thought of him, had tremendous amounts of chakra; all he needed was to be able to control it. He was the son of Kushina and Minato, carried the Uzumaki Clan in his blood. She would not deny him his heritage. He would be a powerhouse, someday.

Maika honed Sasuke's speed and strength when she could and improved his flexibility. He had the instincts and potential for kenjutsu and she thought of him as much as a younger brother as she considered Naruto. She already had a sword in commission for him when he grew old enough and Sasuke was certainly interested in wielding a blade. The style fit him, fast and deadly.

She coached them when she had time, but she remained an active jounin. The Hokage did what he could, but she was strong and Konoha could not waste her. He sent her on missions.

The boys protested in their own ways when she had to leave, though she had long since taught them how to care for themselves when she was gone. Sasuke sulked and refused to talk to her while Naruto shouted and threw a temper tantrum. They each had their own scars and she was the only family that had left. Maika understood, but she had her duty.

She kissed their foreheads and promised solemnly that she would come back.

Maika didn't break her promises.

**II.**

"Onee-chan!" Ten year old Naruto shouted as he slammed open the door.

"We're home." Sasuke said, coming in after the blonde idiot.

Maika smiled, chopping up carrots with ease in the kitchen. "Welcome back, boys."

"Onee-chan! Onee-chan! Guess what?" Naruto ran into the kitchen, all but bouncing in excitement.

"What?" She dumped the carrots into the soup, eyes glimmering with amusement.

"I made new friends today!" Naruto chirped.

"Oh?"

"Yeah! Shikamaru and Chouji."

"How about you, Sasuke?" Maika dumped some pepper into the pot.

"Hn. They're not bad." He admitted grudgingly.

"That's good." She hummed absently. "Boys, set the table please."

"Hai." They chorused in unison, moving towards the cabinets.

Maika nodded to herself. The Nara and Akimichi Heir. They would be good for her boys; powerful allies when they grew up.

Later, a new concern occurred to her. Frowning, she turned to the tussling boys and said, "Naruto, Sasuke, do you want to be in the same team together?"

They froze, eyes wide. Breaking apart, they sat down on the grass, side by side, to stare at her.

"Can we?" Naruto asked, starting to smile.

She raised an eyebrow at them. "Do you want to?"

They exchanged a quick glance, came to an agreement without a single word. "Of course!" Naruto declared.

Maika smiled slyly and beckoned them closer. "This is what you have to do..."

**III.**

She gently placed a bouquet of red lilies on the Memorial Stone.

It was a good day today, warm but not hot, windy but not chilly.

Maika traced names on the Stone and closed her eyes for a bare moment.

It was hard... so very hard... for her to stay in this Village.

She could _feel_ Itachi's chakra signature sometimes, when she was on a mission or even just in her apartment. Her sensing range could now encompass a fourth of the ninja world if she so wished it.

It was the ultimate allure, knowing she could track down her remaining teammate anytime she wished. Maika resisted because she had promised.

She had promised Kushina and Minato that she would watch over Naruto.

She had promised Itachi that she would watch over Sasuke.

She had promised Shisui that she would watch over the Village.

The Leaf Village that Uzushiogakure and Mother and Father and Kushina and Minato and Shisui and Itachi had sacrificed themselves to protect.

Maika wondered if the others understood that, without her promises, she would have left with Itachi and never looked back. She wondered if they understood that _she_ did not love this Village, that she protected it only because her loved ones had given their hearts and souls for Konohagakure. She wondered if they cared.

**IV.**

"It's stupid!" Eleven-year-old Sasuke declared, slamming the door open and stalking in.

"No, it isn't!" Naruto screamed back, slamming the door closed and glaring at his best friend. The poor piece of wood creaked miserably.

Maika made a note to replace that door and get a stronger one.

"Nee-san, the dobe has a crush." Sasuke said bluntly, turning to her and pointing a finger at the blonde.

She blinked, slowly raised an eyebrow at the blushing boy. "That so, Naruto?"

Naruto fidgeted nervously. He knew that tone she had used; his Onee-chan wanted an explanation and she wanted it _now_. "I - I - uh - yeah." He stuttered.

"And who is this crush?" Maika asked curiously. She was no stranger to crushes, although she had never had one herself. At sixteen, she was by far an unattractive teenager and more than one young man had tried to woo her. She had turned them all down gently, but had the feeling the attention would only increase.

"Uh, um, we-well..." Naruto squirmed.

Sasuke decided to put him out of his misery. "Haruno Sakura." He stated, falling back into the way Maika had taught them how to report. "Pink hair, green eyes, eleven years old. Smartest girl in our class, but," He smirked, "also one of my fangirls."

Her rose pink eyes flashed with contempt. "A fangirl?" She repeated incredulously.

"Tied for the number one most annoying only with Yamanaka Ino." Sasuke confirmed.

Maika turned her scorching gaze on her sheepish little brother. "And why is it that you have a crush on her, Naruto?"

"She's pretty!" Naruto burst out, ears burning. "And she's nice."

She stared at him in a silence that spoke volumes. Naruto flushed a deeper red as he realized just how ridiculous he sounded.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and nudged his roommate with his shoulder. "I told you it's stupid, dobe."

"Shut up!" Naruto retorted weakly.

"Naruto." Maika said quietly, immediately gaining both of the boys' attention. "I have no problem with your crush on this 'Sakura'..."

Naruto beamed and Sasuke scowled.

"... so long as you can give me a sufficient reason why she is so wonderful." She finished sternly. "No superficial ones like beauty, kindness, and physical features, mind."

"Umm... well..." Naruto fumbled.

Maika waited patiently, but when the blonde couldn't find anything, turned to Sasuke. "I give you permission to beat this crush out of him."

Sasuke smirked. Naruto paled.

By the end of the day, Naruto did _not_ have a crush of Sakura, anymore. What he did have were multiple bruises and a split lip.

**V.**

"I'm sending you an A-rank mission to Yugakure." The Hokage said to Maika, handing her the scroll.

She bowed, features carefully bland. "Hai, Hokage-sama." And she was gone.

Apparently, she was to retrieve a special item from the former shinobi village.

'Strange, how it didn't turn out that way,' Maika mused to herself as she slid Chitama out of her shealth and met the slitted yellow eyes of the Snake Sannin.

"Give me Uchiha Sasuke." Orochimaru demanded, in the forest right outside of Yugakure.

"Why do you want him?" She asked curiously.

The creepy snake licked his lips greedily. "Those eyes... the Sharingan... I must have them!"

In the back of her mind, she noted how unusually close Itachi and his unknown partner's chakra signatures were to her location. And Orochimaru's.

Interesting.

Maika smiled, deadly and cutting. "No."

And then she _moved._

**VI.**

"You're... you're just like _him_." Orochimaru spat at her, malice in every word.

Maika titled her head to the side, blood dripping off her blade.

"Like who?" She asked, keeping her voice light and whimsical.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. "You know full well who I am talking about, Uzumaki Maika."

She raised an amused eyebrow, a cold smile playing on her lips. "Oh. So Itachi-kun bloodied you a bit? You poor, poor snake." She taunted.

He snarled and lunged. She brought up Chitama, readied her chakra, and it was on, once more.

**VII.**

If another sensor nin had been nearby in the area, they would have sensed four distinct chakra signatures.

Two were fighting. One was cold, slimy, rather foul. The other was a contradicting whirlwind, blowing and spinning relentlessly, yet impossibly stable.

Two more were close and rapidly closing in on the fighting pair. The first one was a mass of concentrated, dangerous heat that churned in agitation. The second one was a tank of water, massive and dangerous.

If there had been a sensor nin, they would have noticed the whirlwind was subtly directing her opponent in the direction of the pair moving towards them.

But there wasn't. And Orochimaru didn't notice until it was too late.

**VIII.**

"Wind Release: Steel Edge!" Maika called out, swinging Chitama in a wide arc.

Orochimaru leapt off his branch a mere second before multiple gusts of wind as sharp as a newly-minted blade destroyed it.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hand." He hissed, throwing his arms out. Several snakes shot out of his sleeves to dart at the unfazed redhead.

Pushing off her own branch, she expertly sliced through all of them with ease before they were so much as near her. Bringing her blade back, she swung it at the Sannin who rapidly dodged the tiny wind blades.

Unnoticed by Orochimaru, she whispered under her breath, "Distance Jazz."

Her opponent didn't react to the genjutsu, which told Maika why Itachi had so little trouble with him.

And speaking of the Uchiha, her eyes subtly flickered to her left. Two more minutes, she judged.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Orochimaru thrust out his arms, creating a massive gust of wind that roared towards her, falling back to land on the forest floor.

She scoffed. 'Smart, using _wind_ against me.'

Raising Chitama, she dispelled the wind with a few quick flicks of her wrist. "Earth Release: Upheaval." She announced, landing on the ground and stabbing her sword into the Earth, channeling her chakra through the special blade.

The ground buckled, large chunks of earth and rock forced up from the ground in a chaotic blend of blunted rock and sharp edges. Orochimaru was forced to jump away, landing vertical on the bark of a tree.

One more minute.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" The Sannin created thousands of shurikens that headed straight for Maika.

She eyed the upcoming projectiles without worry. Lifting her sword out of the floor, she spun around in a quick circle, Chitama held in front of her. "Wind Release: Sphere Tornado!"

Just as the name implied, a tornado formed around her. Flicking out her hand, she flung the tornado out, the rotating wind easily blowing away the shurikens. And practically everything else in the vicinity.

Orochimaru grimaced, bringing up his arms to protect his face from the tremendous gale. Light cuts appeared around his body, the wind vicious.

Thirty seconds.

As soon as the wind faded away, Maika threw herself at Orochimaru, forcing him back with rapid strikes. The beauty of her genjutsu was that it was D-rank; the Sannin simply hadn't sensed it because it was so minuscule. But, what it did what twist distance. Five meters turned into five centimeters. Five inches turned into five miles.

It was so subtle no one noticed it, as her opponent wasn't noticing how she was driving him back long distances. His mistake, really.

He was fast, but she was, too. He was skilled, but she had the blade. He was a genius at taijutsu, but she was a mistress of kenjutsu.

Orochimaru was on the defensive.

Five seconds.

Maika smiled in delight and jumped away from Orochimaru. He blinked, confused. What was she doing?

And then, he sensed it, far too late. His eyes widened.

_Fuck._

With barely a whisper, Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, fully dressed in black and red attire, appeared out of the surrounding trees, landed between Orochimaru and Maika and straightened up.

**IX.**

Itachi didn't particularly know why he had interfered with their battle.

No. That was a lie. He did know, but he didn't want to admit the flaw to himself. Because it was a flaw, one that was potentially dangerous.

He and Kisame had been lounging in a dango shop when they had first felt the chakra between the two combatants. He had been the one to put down his tea and persuade Kisame into chasing after Orochimaru. It wasn't hard, the snake had betrayed their organization, after all, but still. He had been the one to make the decision to interfere.

And why? If it had been anyone else, he wouldn't have cared. But no, he had felt _her_ chakra and old instincts had reared up their heads violently.

Habits died hard and his whole 'childhood' had revolved around protecting one Uzumaki Maika. And Orochimaru was an S-class Sannin.

He had known she knew he was there, her sensing abilities had never been in doubt, and the second he had felt her herding the snake towards them, that last protest had faded.

She remained his weakness, even after all these years.

Now, he scanned the battleground with his Sharingan, taking in the cut trees and torn ground. He gave the Snake Sannin a disinterested glance, observing his vaguely bleeding wounds with quiet pleasure, and then forced himself to look at his teammate. That one bond, he had never cut. Never quite been able to.

Years - three - had passed since he last saw her and he had missed her dearly. Despite himself and the mask he knew he had to display to the world, Itachi felt his breath catch slightly in his throat. He had never doubted that she would be beautiful, unlike some other people... but knowing and seeing were different things.

Her hair was longer, that dark red silk flowing freely down her back to fram her high cheekbones and large eyes nicely. Her skin remained flawless cream with an undertone of gold, though it was marred with small cuts and streaks of blood that sent irrational anger coursing through Itachi's veins. Her eyes stayed steady on his, those stunningly rose gold eyes that he had willingly stared into for hours on end so long ago.

She wore a long, vivid red kimono embroidered with pink flowers and a long slit up the side for easy maneuvering along with heeled black boots, fingerless black gloves protecting her hands. At sixteen, she was more woman than girl and her dress sweetly caressed her curves to his admiration and mild annoyance - there was no _need_ for others to be treated to the same sight.

Other than Chitama's sheath, which had been slid under her dark red obi, and her forehead protector, which hung from her neck, it didn't look like she had any weapons. If you ignored the black storage seals on her arms, of course, near guaranteed to be both very versatile and highly deadly. Her earrings waved slightly in the wind. His gift. _His._

Maika stood perfectly still behind him and Kisame, her blade held to her side, dripping with Orochimaru's blood. Her posture was watchful but relaxed, her face serene but wary. It was a testament to her strength that she sported minor wounds while her opponent was a Sannin. Her eyes were on him, but he knew she was well aware of both Orochimaru and Kisame.

Itachi could tell that she was happy to see him, but he doubted anyone else could. That quirk of her lush lips could have been smugness at having outmaneuvered Orochimaru, the warmth of her eyes could have been adrenaline, her ease could have been confidence. Only he knew... and he reciprocated the emotion.

It had been a long time since he had last seen the girl-turned-woman he loved.

**X.**

Itachi, Maika mused, had grown into a stunning, handsome man. His hair was longer, his features simple but elegant. The clock he wore didn't disguise his well-toned body and were she a lesser woman, her eyes might have been glazed. The blood red Sharingan eyes focused on her were as familiar as ever, caused her no fear, only an aching sense of comfort.

Her attention was abruptly pulled away from her teammate by Orochimaru, to her irritation.

"You." The Snake Sannin hissed menacingly, glaring at her and killing intent soaring.

She raised a dismissive eyebrow at him. Did he really think he could intimidate her now? He hadn't been able to score a meaningful hit on her when she was alone. With Itachi and his partner, Hoshigaki Kisame, from the looks of it - why was he traveling around with the Monster of the Hidden Mist, anyways? - Orochimaru had no chance, no chance at all of touching her.

Speaking of, from the getup - she was fairly certain Itachi hadn't worn nail polish before - it looked like he was in some sort of organization.

Maika would have to talk to Jiraiya about that.

"You did this on purpose." Orochimaru growled at her, chakra flaring.

"Woah." Kisame smirked, hefting his chakra blade over his shoulder. "Calm down, Snake. You'll be dead soon enough."

The blue-skinned man turned his attention to her. "And I suppose you're 'Crimson Jasper' Uzumaki Maika of the Hidden Leaf?"

Maika gave him an arch look. "You would be correct."

"Well, then, Uzumaki Maika, why don't we take this snake garbage off your hands?" Bloodlust flashed on the missing-nin's face.

She smiled languidly. "Sure. Why not?"

He chuckled. "So polite." He mocked.

She backed up a step, reaching out with her senses to 'memorize' the three chakra signatures.

Orochimaru's was easy. It felt like poisonous slime against her senses. She shuddered inwardly.

Kisame's was easy too. It was very distinctive, seeing as the ninja was a land-shark.

Itachi's though... she narrowed her eyes subtlety. There was something... _off_ with his chakra. Not obvious to anyone else, but she had known the feel of his chakra since she was a child. Something was different; she couldn't pinpoint it but she felt it.

Maika shoved it into the back of her mind, but didn't let herself forget it. She would let it go for now, but if it worsened...

Well. She didn't like secrets and she had never let her boys keep them from her.

Orochimaru took a step towards her and she snapped back to attention just in time to see Itachi's hands blur through hand seals, his eyes whirling with the Sharingan.

Something settled over the area, the threads invisible and practically unnoticeable.

Genjutsu. From the Sharingan.

Maika tore through it with ease. It had been a long time, but she had spent years training with two Sharingan users who specialized in genjutsu. It wasn't like Itachi had even been trying to capture her. It was more of a smoke screen and she used it gratefully.

While Orochimaru and Kisame were distracted, she sheathed Chitama

Maika smoothly and bought her hands up into the ram seal.

Her eyes met Itachi's for an endless moment... and then she disappeared in a shower of leaves.

Maika didn't worry about anyone catching her. Her teammate had been Shisui of the Body Flicker and the only one who had the slightest chance of keeping up with her was her other teammate.

The one who wanted her to be safe and happy and far away from that organization she later learned was called Akatsuki.

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><p><em>Next time:<em>

_"Your team, Naruto." She reminded gently._

_"Oh. Right." He brightened up momentarily. "I'm in Team 7 with teme and Sakura-chan!"_

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><p><strong>Juliedoo: It must, it must. *sighs* Itachi, the poor darling, has gone and joined Akatsuki, but Maika's always been there for him, something that I think he always lacked in canon. Maika isn't the type of pull kids into conflicts, especially her own. She is very good at pretending that everything's alright, even if it's isn't. Thank you for the lovely review, sweetie!<strong>

**Rosy Fire: Lolz, it's been coming for a while now. Well, that was kinda the point. XD, maybe...maybe not... All these threats! Thanks for the review, hun!**

**AkemiMimi: The ending isn't set in stone yet, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see! Thanks for the review!**

**Avarianna: Oh, you're very welcome, darling! Hope you enjoy this chapter, too!**

**ShikiUploadz: O.O More threats? Maa, maa, who knows? *smiles enigmatically and runs away* Thanks for the review, Reader-chan!**

**Melissa Fairy: Hmm...they kissed? Lolz, that's it, I promise. Maika's was still only twelve. Thanks for the review!**

**CharitinaX: Oooh, there are a mighty lot of threats this time! The future really isn't set in stone though, and neither is the ending, which is why I'm gonna run away from all you knife-happy people now! *runs away while calling* Thanks for the review, hun!**

**osnapitzlivia: Thank you very much! I'm happy you enjoyed it! Those two are going through a bit of a tough time at the moment, but they got their farewell. Hm...Itachi? We'll see, we'll see... Thank you for the lovely review!**

**AnimePleasegood: Ah, sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out of the blue. Desperation does wonders for budding relationships. Lolz, yes, Itachi was a bit too broken to make the first move, so Maika did it for. Sasuke, well, he seems to be adjusting and he's not as emo as before, which is a plus. Lolz, yup, yup, we get a bit of a time skip! Maika...well, she's coping as best as she can. Btw, did you know that the reason Himawari and Boruto don't have the Byakugan is because Kishimoto literally forgot about it? Thanks for the review, hun!**

**KimKat95: Pretty much, though Sasuke seems to be turning out better than canon. The good parts of the Naruto effect. :O, no worries! I'll cry with you! T-T**

**kksambo: Yup, they're growing up together! Orochimaru...is pushing. Sasuke will have to make his own decisions. Awww, thank you so much! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!**

**Nakamoto Taree: Thank you so much! I'm really happy that you enjoy my story! Well, things are definitely going to change soon... lolz, I hope you enjoy my chapter, hun!**

**Me: Let's see...thanks to my lovely betas. My muse has been wandering off a bit, so updates may be sparse. Ooh, and my blog is working again. Let's see how long it lasts. Review!**

**Question: What animal suits Maika?**


	14. Purpose

**Me: I do not own Naruto**

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><p><em>You must welcome change as the rule but not as your ruler. ~Denis Waitley<em>

**I.**

"Onee-chan!" Naruto cried, barreling in through the door.

Maika glanced up from her piano, smiling warmly in welcome. "Naruto, Sasuke, welcome home."

"Good afternoon, Nee-san." Sasuke greeted quietly, walking in after the exuberant blonde.

"Onee-chan, we graduated today! _And_ we're on the same team!" Naruto shouted, unable to contain his happiness. The late afternoon sunlight glanced off his new forehead protector, proudly proclaiming him a ninja of the Hidden Leaf.

She laughed, deft hands spinning out the final bars of her song. "So you boys did." Maika agreed. "How about we celebrate tonight?"

"Yeah!" Naruto pumped his hands in the air, grin bright and sweet. "Let's go to Ichiraku's!

"Sasuke?" She quirked an eyebrow at the dark-haired boy who shrugged. Sasuke didn't really care, so long as he didn't have to pay the bills.

Maika shook her head in fond amusement. "Alright. To Ichiraku's it is."

That night, Maika ate one shrimp ramen, Sasuke ate one tomato ramen, and Naruto ate sixteen bowls of ramen.

A few hours later, alarms sounded throughout the village. The jounin sternly ordered Naruto and Sasuke to stay in the apartment and went off to report to the Hokage's office.

"Mizuki has turned traitor." The Sandaime said to her as soon as her feet touched the floor.

She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully, sensor abilities on high-alert, though she constricted the area she could sense to Konoha and the forests around her by a few miles. "The Academy teacher?"

"Correct. He has stolen the Scroll of Seals and ran off with it." Sarutobi took a long puff of his pipe and glanced at the awaiting kunoichi. "Find him. And bring him back."

Soundlessly, Maika bowed and vanished.

She had a mission to accomplish. She didn't fail.

**II.**

"Ohayo, Onee-chan." Naruto greeted, strangely glum as he walked in the door the next afternoon. Sasuke echoed him.

Maika leaned back on her sofa and took in her brother's dim face and Sasuke's brooding look. She sighed.

"What happened?" She asked, point-blank, gesturing to the sofas around her. Naruto and Sasuke obediently sat around her, though Naruto still didn't smile and Sasuke crossed his arms.

"It's our sensei." Naruto said.

"Your team, Naruto." She reminded gently.

"Oh. Right." He brightened up momentarily. "I'm in Team 7 with teme and Sakura-chan!"

Maika blinked. She was happy that her two boys were together as planned, it would make it easier for her to keep an eye on them, but that other name rang a bell... "Your old crush?"

Sasuke smirked while Naruto flushed. "Onee-chan!"

She took that as an affirmative. "And your sensei?"

The blonde's shoulders slumped. "Hatake Kakashi."

Reflexively, Maika straightened up, her eyes widening. "You have Kakashi as your sensei?!"

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and Sasuke frowned at her, both of them surprised by the startled note in her voice. Not a lot of things surprised Maika.

"Yes..." Naruto trailed off in confusion.

Tapping her fingers against her sofa, she leaned back and considered that. For a former Anbu Captain to be training three green genin... the Council must have been more desperate than she had realized. Then again, she thought with a mental snort, she had rather forcibly snatched Sasuke from their fingers.

Still. This would be good for Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke would receive help for his Sharingan when he activated it and Kakashi was a legend in the Shinobi World. The only problem was his laziness. Well, that and his porn addiction. But that, Maika could easily... tweak a bit.

"Do you know him, Nee-san?" Sasuke asked curiously.

She hummed thoughtfully. "I do. He used to be my Captain."

Naruto and Sasuke bolted upright in shock, eyes wide.

"He used to be in Anbu?!" Naruto gaped. "That old geezer?!"

Sasuke looked just as perturbed, if much more subtle about it, and Maika laughed, "Yes. I assume he is giving you three a test?"

They nodded.

"Remember what I've taught you." She told them simply. "And go about your normal routine. You'll be fine."

"Hai." Her boys replied in unison.

**III.**

Later that day, Maika went to the Jounin Lounge and placed several bets.

The day of the test dawned bright and clear. She made well-rounded, nourishing breakfasts for them and sent them on their way.

And then she leaned back and waited for her money.

The pay of five A-rank missions found their way into her hands by the end of the day.

She smiled victoriously. Served the others right for not believing in her boys.

**IV.**

As it turned out, Kakashi had given them the bell test.

The evening after the test, her boys gave her a quick rundown of how it went.

For years, Maika had drilled it into their heads that teamwork was the most important thing. It had kept her alive through her genin and chunin years as well as her Anbu years. She knew its value.

Of course, Naruto and Sasuke were both proud, young boys that simply couldn't get along at times. When the problem had been bought to her attention, she had hustled them both to a training field, blindfolded them, and attacked. She had held back, of course, but she had been an Anbu and they hadn't even been genin.

It took them three hours to learn how to work together to her standards and by the end of that training session, Naruto's precious jumpsuit had been torn beyond repair and Sasuke had been covered in mud. They had both been sore for weeks and naturally, had learned from the experience as young children tended to do.

When Kakashi had informed them that only two teammates would pass, the boys had glanced at each other and then at Sakura. At the word 'go', Naruto had made dozens of shadow clones - she had taught him that jutsu when he was ten - and Sasuke had grabbed Sakura, hauling her off to a nearby clearing where Naruto had joined them shortly.

There, they had concocted a plan. Naruto would distract Kakashi with an army of clones, Sasuke would charge in with his Fire jutsu, and Sakura would cut the bells off when he was occupied.

It worked perfectly and Kakashi had proceeded to pass the team as well as lecture them on the value of teamwork and sacrifice.

Maika grinned and made her boys their favorite foods. She also started to plan for what she would teach her brothers now that they were officially genin.

**V.**

"Sasuke, is Sakura still a fangirl?" Maika inquired weeks after her boys had officially been declared a team, her fingers never stopping their dance across the white and black keys.

"Yes. Sadly." He replied from the kitchen, where he was doing the dishes.

She tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear. "Is it bad?"

Naruto shifted restlessly from where he was cleaning the windows. "It's not that bad..."

Maika looked up from her book to throw Sasuke a look.

"It's bad." The Uchiha stated bluntly. Naruto made a face at his friend that was ignored.

"I see." She let a few minutes of silence pass. "I want to see her for dinner tomorrow."

Naruto paled and Sasuke winced.

"Onee-chan-" Naruto started, worry flashing on his face.

"Calm down, Naruto." She told him. "She'll be fine."

She paid no attention to the skepticism on their faces.

Damn it, Naruto and Sasuke revered their older sister. But, even they acknowledged that sometimes she was really, really scary and strong. On the other hand, Sakura was fragile, young, and naive.

Not a good combination.

_Don't be delicate, be vast and brilliant. ~Shinedown_

**I.**

Sakura resisted the urge to fidget nervously under the unrelenting rose-gold gaze that pinned her.

She had been positively elated when Sasuke had invited her to have dinner with him and his 'guardian'. As such, she had spent an hour on her hair and makeup, put on a pretty pink dress, and nice shoes. When Sasuke had shown up, to her surprise, he had bought Naruto along.

Confused, Sakura had questioned why Naruto was there. And promptly had her perfect world ripped apart when she had been told they lived together.

Cool, strong, handsome Uchiha Sasuke lived with Uzumaki Naruto, the deadlast, the prankster, the idiot?! And no one knew?!

Shocked, she hadn't made a sound on their journey, not to the Uchiha Estates as she had assumed, but to a chic apartment near the Hokage's Monument. Sasuke and Naruto had conversed casually, not mentioning anything about her silence. The more Sakura had listened, the more confused she had been.

Naruto and Sasuke hadn't been arguing, hadn't been trying to one-up one another as they had been doing for as long as she could remember. No, they had been _teasing_ each other, had been getting along. If she hadn't known better... she would have thought they were friends!

Leading her up a set of six stairs, they had finally turned to her, their breaths not even fast while she was panting.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto had said, idiotic smile nowhere in sight. "We want you to know..."

"That no matter what, she won't hurt you." Sasuke had stated, dark eyes serious. "Just... keep that in mind."

Naruto had turned around and knocked on the door before Sakura could ask what he meant. They were greeted by one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. She had introduced herself to Sakura as Uzumaki Maika, Naruto and Sasuke's guardian and 'big sister'.

Then, Maika had invited Sakura into a stunning apartment and guided her to an immaculate table set with a variety of delicious plates, and her world had reconstructed itself a little. Of course, Sasuke would have such a wonderful, poised big sister, live in such a beautiful apartment, he was _Uchiha Sasuke_!

Dinner had been a strange affair. The food had been exquisite and even Naruto had shown decent table manners, to her surprise, but Sakura had felt unreasonably tense. Maika had been a perfect hostess, keeping the conversation flowing and light, but something in the way she had looked at Sakura made the young kunoichi uneasy. It was almost as she had been judging her words, her posture, her movements. Moreover, both Sasuke and Naruto had acted strained; they glanced at her and Maika when they thought she wasn't looking.

It made Sakura decidedly nervous.

After they had all finished eating, Maika had dismissed the boys, saying she wanted to talk to Sakura alone. They had exchanged a look and by that time, Sakura had been mentally begging for them to not leave her alone with the formidable woman. Sadly, her pleas remained unanswered and they had left, Naruto patting her reassuringly on the shoulder as he went.

This led Sakura to her current predicament, sitting in the elegant living room with Maika staring straight at her, posture both languid and dangerous.

"Sakura." She said finally, voice soft as silk and deadly as the blade that hung from her waist. "Do you know why I had Sasuke invite you for dinner?"

She gulped. It was Maika who had asked Sasuke to invite her? "No, Maika-san."

The older woman smiled, dazzling and perilous. "You should."

Sakura tried to control her racing heartbeat. Maika wasn't acting threatening; she didn't need to. Her very presence felt menacing, lethal.

"What do you think about my boys?" She asked, switching topics without warning.

Sakura blinked, tried to orient herself. "Y-you mean Sasuke-kun and Naruto?"

Maika stilled for a moment. "Yes. Them."

"Oh, well..." Sakura trailed off, licking her lips nervously. "I think Sasuke-kun is amazing."

This seemed to amuse the jounin and she arched a delicate brow. "Oh?"

"Yes!" She blushed, eyes sparkling. "He's so cool and powerful and just incredible!"

"I see." Maika replied. "And Naruto?"

"Oh, uhh..." Sakura bit her lip. She could guess from the kunoichi's last name that the two were related and she didn't want to offend...

She smiled reassuringly, leaning forward a bit. "It's okay, Sakura. You can tell me the truth. I know my little brother is a little overwhelming."

"Yeah!" Sakura smiled back, the knots in her stomach easing. What had she been thinking? Maika wouldn't have hurt her, Sasuke-kun had told her himself. It must have been her own anxiety causing the issue.

"And then there are his pranks..." Maika sighed.

"They're horrible! His pranks are always so annoying and disruptive and ridiculous!" She chimed in. "I'm amazed he even passed at all."

"His childishness..."

"Naruto always goes around screaming to the world that he's going to become Hokage when he doesn't put any work into it! He's deadlast! Everyone knows that he'll never amount to anyt-" Sakura stopped, suddenly realizing who she was talking to.

Maika's smile was blazing and mirthless, the warmth in her eyes long gone. "They call you this year's top kunoichi, Sakura."

A bead of sweat rolled down rosette's forehead, her breath suddenly coming in ragged pants. Had the room always been so cold? "H-hai, Maika-san."

"If that's the case," The kunoichi leaned forward, gaze overwhelming to the young girl, "why is that you are so pathetically weak?"

Sakura flinched back, feeling like she had just been slapped. No one, _no one_ had ever insulted her so blatantly. "W-What?" She stuttered and immediately felt like hitting herself.

"You're weak." Maika stated bluntly. "Your hair is soft and silky, your dress is girly and flattering, you smell of perfume and you probably spend half an hour each day pampering yourself, but it's incredibly obvious that you spend little to no time training. Your movements are loud and awkward, your chakra is laughably small, and I would bet my best kunai that the only jutsu you know are the ones taught at the Academy."

"I-I.." Sakura gaped, wanting to refute the older woman's judgment, but not being able to. To her horror, every word that had come out of her mouth was _true_.

"You have no concept of teamwork." She went on. "You 'love' Sasuke, but know nothing about him. You 'hate' Naruto, but know nothing about him either. You're a useless piece of space on Team Seven."

Tears gathered in Sakura's eyes and began to flow steadily down her cheeks. She felt ashamed of the display of weakness, especially in front of Maika and after the jounin's speech. Inner Sakura was outraged, but even she couldn't find a false point in Maika's argument.

The redhead paused, taking in the rosette's tormented expression with unsympathetic eyes, but when she spoke again, her voice was slightly softer. "Let me ask you one thing, Sakura: Why did you decide to become a kunoichi?"

"Because Sasuke-kun - " She started to say automatically, but halted abruptly. For Sasuke-kun? No... no, that wasn't right, was it?

Sasuke-kun and the dream of becoming the Uchiha Lady had come later. No... the reason she had entered the Academy hadn't been because of Sasuke. Before, before she had ever met Sasuke, there had been a beautiful kunoichi that had lived next to her family.

What had been her name been again? Chie. Chie-san, that had been it. Now that Maika had asked about it, Sakura remembered the other kunoichi vividly. How could she have forgotten? Even if it was Sasuke-kun...

Chie-san had been so strong and tough and practical. Sakura remembered idolizing the other woman. She had been a strong jounin, but she had always had time to talk to Sakura. For all of her strength, Chie-san had never said a harsh word to Sakura.

When she had been five, Chie had gone on a mission. Sakura had never figured out what that mission was about, but she had heard how Chie had died. The jounin with her short, pretty chestnut hair and flashing blue eyes had gone out defending an innocent mother and her newborn child, and she had managed to take out her enemy with her.

Chie had died, but that mother and her daughter had survived.

_That_ was why she had decided to be a kunoichi. Not because of Sasuke-kun, but because she had wanted to be like Chie, strong and courageous enough to defend the weak. How had she forgotten such a vital detail?

"It's because I wanted to defend my village." Sakura said slowly, tears drying up. She forced herself to look up and meet Maika's eyes despite her terror. "It's because I wanted to be strong enough to protect my loved ones."

Sasuke and Naruto's guardian smiled, warm and approving. "Good. That's what I want to hear. Now, do you want me to train you, Haruno Sakura, as a strong kunoichi of the leaf should be trained?"

Sakura's nod was firm. "Yes, please, Maika-sensei."

Sasuke-kun was still strong and cool and handsome. But he hadn't been why she had chosen this path and Sakura wouldn't allow herself to forget that anymore.

She would become a proud kunoichi of the leaf. She owned at least that much to herself and the awestruck little girl she had been.

* * *

><p><strong>Me: I'm so sorry to everyone who has stayed with me so far, but I've just lost interest in this story. I'll continue to post the remaining chapters I've written already, but it's now on hiatus, I think.<strong>

** Thanks to all you wonderful readers and my incredible beta!**


	15. Training

**Me: I do not own Naruto.**

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><p><em>Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle. ~Napoleon Hill<em>

**I.  
><strong>

"Again." Maika commanded mercilessly, paying no attention to the ragged state of her pupil.

Sakura gasped, the stitch in her side painful, but she didn't argue with the jounin. Doing so, as she had learned a few days ago, would only earn her another round around the grounds and forty more push-ups.

Gritting her teeth, she forced her feet to start running around the lake once more and focused on breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth. She could do this. She would do this.

Momentarily satisfied, Maika turned her attention to Naruto and Sasuke. The boys were sparring after going through the same exercise Sakura was still struggling with. The rosette was in horrible physical shape, but Maika was fixing that.

Maybe some others would judge that she was being too harsh on the poor girl, but over the weeks, Maika had found that she quite liked Sakura, once the younger girl had gotten over her fangirling of Sasuke.

Sakura was very intelligent and she had the same drive to possess knowledge that Maika once had. More, she could easily tell that Sakura had had no female role model to look up to for far too long. She needed someone to guide her as Maika once had. No one had been able to help her back then, but Maika was determined to help Sakura. And coddling her was going to help no one.

If anything, her parents weren't looking after their daughter.

One of the first things that the jounin had put a stop to was the rosette's dieting. She had been furious when she had found out, because for a kunoichi, that had been more than just unhealthy. It had been _dangerous._

Over the years, she had pounded into her boys' heads that while ninjas could and did go long periods without food or rest, doing so was risky, and for them, a health issue. Yes, she had done so while she had been their age, but when she had been their age, she had already been Anbu.

Neither Naruto nor Sasuke were at that level and depriving their bodies of the necessary nutrients and sleep would only impact their growth and development. It was why, when Kakashi had told them not to eat any breakfast, the boys hadn't hesitated for a second to eat the breakfast she had prepared for them.

Throwing up or no, going off to fight with no food in your stomach and little sleep was a very bad idea.

Of course, all three of them should have learned this in the Academy, but Maika had learned precious little in that place and even less had been useful, so she had been privately tutoring and teaching the boys at home the tricks of the trade. Being a ninja was hardly all fun and games; she had knocked that into them early, early on.

It hadn't been easy with Naruto - the boy had been so determined to become Hokage and gain the approval of all the villagers and he was so bright and naive - but she had persevered. She adored her little blonde brother of laughter and sunshine and she hardly wanted to destroy his innocence so early, but she also had no desire to see his name carved onto the Monument Stone.

For Sakura, purposefully starving herself to look 'skinny' and 'attractive' may have worked when she had been at the Academy, but she was a genin now. More, she was under Maika's tutelage now. No energy at the wrong instant could lead to sudden and permanent death; the jounin was all too aware of that.

A kunoichi's life was hard and strenuous. She had to train daily, go on difficult missions, be available and alert at all times of the day. As a genin, Sakura wasn't required to do all of that, but it did apply to her.

If she had kept on dieting, Maika had no doubt that Sakura's body would have eventually plain collapsed one day, and the pink-haired girl would have to be sent to the hospital. That would have devastated Naruto - while the blonde didn't have a crush on Sakura anymore, he still cared for her as a teammate should - and Sasuke - who liked Sakura much better now that she didn't fawn and coo over him.

Maika had no intention of letting that happen; Sakura was her pupil now and that meant she was responsible for the young girl. To her absolute annoyance and irritation, the younger girl had told her that her parents had been _encouraging_ her in her dieting. It had made more sense when she had learned that the older couple were stuck in an arranged marriage and her mother was a civilian, but that didn't make it right.

From what she had heard from Naruto and Sasuke, the Academy had only gotten worse since she had been taught there, but _really._ They could at least inform the parents of the students just what a ninja's life would demand from them.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Sasuke's yell pulled her out of her thoughts and she tuned back in to the outside world to see Sasuke blow a decent-sized fireball at Naruto.

The blonde scowled and formed a single clone that threw him into the air and over the fireball before dispelling from the impact of the jutsu. Forming a familiar handseal, he shouted out, "Take this! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Several dozen shadows clones poofed into existence with war cries and proceeded to charge at Sasuke. The dark-haired boy rolled his eyes and settled into a combat stance, not concerned in the least. He was keeping his cool, but maybe she would have to give him a slap back to reality. True combat was rarely that safe, but between Naruto and Sasuke, it was understandable.

The boys fought several times a day, after all. And while Naruto was innovative with the ways he used his shadow clones, he always ended up using them. Sasuke was more than used to fighting multiple opponents at once. That would be useful later on, Maika noted.

"Maika... onee... san..." The out of breath voice caught her attention and Maika turned to see that Sakura had come to a stop in front of her, bent over, breath coming in quick pants, and hands on her knees.

The redhead smiled ruefully. It had been awkward in the beginning, but the three genins had eventually settled into a routine. In the mornings, the boys would pick Sakura up after eating breakfast - always outside her house because Sakura's mother did not need anymore incentive to push Sakura towards Sasuke and Naruto didn't want to cause conflict between Sakura and her parents because of his presence - with an extra bento in hand that Maika made a point to make everyday for the rosette.

Sakura's mother might want to make her daughter as skinny as possible and Maika might have no legal ground for interference, but that didn't mean the jounin would stand by and watch Sakura starve to death. Naruto and Sasuke would make sure Sakura ate her bento at the bridge and after she was done, the three would train.

While Maika was fairly certain that Team Seven would remain on D-rank missions for quite some time, she wasn't willing to risk it. Naruto was the Kyuubi container - she still had to inform him of that teeny-tiny little fact - Sasuke was the 'last' Sharingan user and Kakashi was 'Copycat' Kakashi, the man who had copied a thousand jutsus.

There was no possible way Team Seven would remain on 'safe' missions for long. The Council was relentless and the Sandaime couldn't fend them off forever. In addition, the genin needed a taste of the outside world and more experience. It was why she made sure that the exercises the three did in the morning were rather undemanding.

Some stretches, some warm-ups, and on bright, energetic days, the three would go through some katas. Otherwise, Sakura would focus on an anatomy book - Maika had quickly focused on the rosette's perfect chakra control and interest in medicine - and Sasuke would study a scroll on kenjutsu form and Naruto would plop down with a book on basic fuinjutsu.

Maika knew what an imbalance of strength could do a team so she hadn't progressed Naruto in fuinjutsu nor Sasuke in kenjutsu. Not yet. They could wait a few more weeks until Sakura mostly caught up.

After Kakashi showed up with a lame excuse - she had heard lots and lots of complaints from her little students about the man's tardiness to her amusement - they would go on to perform some D-ranks mission. After the first few days, Maika had sat the three down and explained to them just why genins were required to go on the easiest and most ridiculous missions.

As she had expected, Kakashi had done no such thing and they had had no idea why they were wasting their time on such 'useless' things. Kakashi had been an amazing Anbu Captain, she remembered thinking to herself, but he really wasn't experienced in teaching.

The look on their faces when they realized that the 'useless' missions were to give them some credit in Konoha, build teamwork, and supply training time had been most amusing.

Once missions were over and Kakashi had left, the genins would come back to their apartment. If Maika was at home - which she usually was if not on a mission - she would welcome them back, offer whatever baked good she been working on at the time, and put them through 'helpful hell' as Naruto had dubbed it.

She just called it training, to the brats' groans of pain.

After sufficiently drilling the genins to her satisfaction, Maika would give them some time to recover - they collapsed into a sweaty, exhausted heap - and make dinner. After years of cooking for herself, Naruto, and formerly, her team - Itachi, Shisui, and Juro had had no idea how to cook - she was now quite the cook.

They would eat dinner once Maika coaxed the three inside, mostly with threats of more training, and such times were good for her aching heart. Naruto would laugh and Sasuke would grunt and Sakura would smile shyly.

Naruto and Sasuke would bicker, Sakura would try to mediate to no avail - the rosette was getting better at treating her teammates fairly, although the first few dinners Maika had to step in - and Maika would simply watch over the commotion from the head of the table through indulgent eyes.

It hadn't taken long for Sakura to pick up on calling her 'Onee-san' upon spending so much time with them.

"Nice job." She said to the younger girl now and Sakura beamed. Maika wasn't a teacher who used insults and goads to motivate her students, but the compliments she gave were few and in-between.

"Why don't you go - " Maika paused suddenly. She had been about to suggest Sakura practice tree-climbing, but Kakashi hadn't gotten to teaching that yet and while she had no problems with tutoring the genins, she wasn't about to completely steal her former Captain's students away from him.

She had no idea what was going through the famed shinobi's head, what with him not actually teaching the genins much, but she knew what it was to lose everything. And she truly, truly respected Kakashi.

There wasn't any need to hurt him like this.

"Onee-san?" Sakura questioned, concern on her face.

A few feet away, Naruto and Sasuke had stopped sparring to look over at their older sister with worry. They weren't used to Maika being anything but composed and ready for anything.

"Nevermind." She shook her head, smiling reassuringly. "I just thought of something that I should do. Sasuke, Naruto, why don't you two come here and help Sakura with her taijutsu?"

The female of the team's taijutsu wasn't wrong, per say, just bad. All Sakura knew were the stances of the Academy and she didn't know how to improvise, how to put some of her own spin on the rigid forms.

In contrast, Maika was guiding Sasuke through the last few stances of the Uchiha Clan taijutsu and when it had become clear that the Academy teachers were deliberately teaching Naruto the wrong forms, she had begun to instruct him in the Uzumaki style taijutsu.

The two boys wouldn't teach Sakura their taijutsu, but they could help her develop a mixture of her own. Maika had already figured out that Sakura's physical strength was quite good for a genin. If she capitalized on that, she could be a force to be reckoned with in the future.

"Hai, Onee-chan." Naruto replied obediently and they began to walk over. "Are you okay though?"

"I'm fine." Maika replied, aware of the suspicious glint in Sasuke's eyes. 'Just like his brother,' she thought to herself fondly, ignoring the familiar pain that sliced through her heart.

Before the boys could question her further, she vanished in a blur of red.

"Ugh." Naruto frowned sullenly. "I hate it when she does that."

"Hn." Sasuke agreed, brows furrowed.

Sakura frowned thoughtfully, but didn't push.

**II.**

"Kakashi-sempai."

The masked ninja looked up at the familiar alto voice, having expected this conversation for some time.

"Maika-chan." Kakashi greeted with genuine happiness. "It's been a long time."

His former subordinate's smile was both bittersweet and stunning. "Yes." Settling next to him on the bench with fluid grace, she rose her eyes to the brilliant sky, presence quietly undemanding in a way that Kakashi could appreciate for few were so considerate.

The sun was setting, painting the fluffy clouds pink and red and crimson and a million shades in between. It was a glorious sight and as a faint breeze whispered across the village, ruffling his short silver hair and her long port hair, it was almost easy for Kakashi to find some semblance of peace.

Moments passed in tranquil silence, Maika simply watching the sun descend down the horizon and Kakashi reading through his book for the nth time.

"Why?" She asked, long, long after the moon had rose in the sky and the stars had twinkled into view.

Kakashi, book tucked away after the light had faded, paused. "I assume you are talking about Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura?"

"Yes. Why?"

"... They're not ready." Kakashi said.

"They're not ready? Or you're not ready?" Maika was careful to keep her accusation from being too harsh.

He tensed. Minor, subtle, but she noticed because she had been waiting for it. "... He looks just like Minato-sensei." Kakashi's voice was a bit ragged around the edges. "And... and..."

"Obito-san." She completed and felt him flinch. Minato had told her about Kannabi Bridge when he had been trying to convey to her how dangerous being a ninja could be, showed her his dead student's photo. She had never forgotten about Uchiha Obito, nor had she blinded herself to the effect he had had on Hatake Kakashi.

Kakashi said nothing, but his shoulders were ever so slightly hunched and Maika knew that he was hurting. She understood; years had passed but she would always mourn for Shisui, even for Juro.

_Itachi-kun..._

"Sasuke reminds you of yourself, doesn't he?"

A strained nod. "And Sakura... she could be Rin if I tilt my head and squint. They act just like my team used to... well, they used to." He turned his head and actually looked at her for the first time in their conversation, eye piercing. "Your influence, I believe."

She smiled softly, not even trying to deny it. Kakashi was a phenomenal shinobi; of course he knew that she had been teaching the brats. "They need to learn, Kakashi-sempai."

"You're teaching them." If she hadn't known better, she might have said that the older jounin's voice was petulant. She knew that it was weary.

"I am." Maika replied, gentle in a way she was with few people. "But you are their sensei, Kakashi-sempai. I am just their big sister."

The silence dragged on for several, tension-filled moments.

Kakashi sighed and drooped in defeat. "You've grown up to become a mean woman, Maika-chan." He grumbled, giving her a churlish look.

Maika laughed softly and rose to her feet. "Why, thank you, Kakashi-sempai. I expect to see you at my dinner table tomorrow at six. Good night."

She absently wondered whether or not she would need to buy a new set of dining furniture. Things were getting a bit cramped.


	16. Wave

**Me: I don't own Naruto~**

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><p><em>The only source of knowledge is experience. ~Albert Einstein<em>

**I.**

"Onee-chan! We're home!" Came the cheerful shout as the door slammed open, and Maika hummed softly, putting the finishing touches on the frosted red velvet cake she was making.

"Welcome back!" She called back with a bright smile, chuckling to herself as the three genin trekked in, all in various forms of disarray. "You're cleaning that mess up later." Maika warned good-naturedly.

Naruto pouted, covered head to toe in mud. "But, Onee-chan! It's not our fault!"

"Hn. Kakashi's a sadist." Sasuke agreed, scowling at his dirt-covered self.

"Can I take a shower, Onee-san?" Sakura winced at the ragged state of her pink hair, making puppy eyes at the older kunoichi. For all that Maika had blithely beat out Sakura's fangirlness, the pinkette still tended to obsess over her looks a bit. Then again, she was a teenager, so Maika let it slide.

"Sure, you know where the bathroom is." Maika replied, turning the cake this way and that to ensure it was perfect. "Sasuke, Naruto, I expect my floors to be spotless before any of you gets cake."

Sakura cheered, skipping off to the bathroom. She spent so many time with Maika and the boys that, not long ago, the red-haired woman had thrown up her hands and promptly converted one of the four guestrooms into Sakura's room, complete with the larger bathroom that the girls had claimed as theirs.

Maika had smiled that I-will-hunt-you-down-and-beat-you-into-the-ground smile, and Sakura had cracked her knuckles, and neither of the boys went anywhere _near_ that bathroom if they could help it.

That was the day Sakura was officially converted to the Uzumaki-Maika-is-the-best-Onee-chan club, started by Naruto and picked up Sasuke.

Naruto pouted and whined, and Sasuke scowled and sulked, but a firm look from the jounin and they obediently picked up two towels and began the long, arduous task of cleaning the wooden floors. Thankfully, all three of the genin had had enough common sense to stay away from the rugs; those would have _terrible_ to clean out. And they had no doubts Maika would have made them do it anyways.

"So, how was your day?" Said kunoichi said, spinning a large kitchen knife between her fingers before cutting the cake into slices with expertise.

"D-ranks." Sasuke said shortly. "And D-ranks."

"And... more D-ranks." Naruto added gloomily. "Kakashi-sensei, that lazy bastard, didn't help at all!"

"Now, now, boys, we've been through this before." Maika chided lightly, an amused smirk curving red lips. "D-ranks are necessary."

"I know, I know... but they're so boring!" Naruto exclaimed, pouting even harder.

"Hn. We can already work together fine." Sasuke muttered, scrubbing at a particularly stubborn stain.

"Hai, hai." She replied patiently. "Done?"

"Yup!" Naruto leaped to his feet and rushed off to rinse off his towel, Sasuke following the blonde at a more languid pace.

"Where is Kakashi-sempai?" Maika wondered as Sakura wandered out, pink hair still wet and dressed in a light pink dress.

Maika didn't really approve of the younger girl's fashion choices - it was entirely different for a jounin to wear bright clothing as compared to a genin, and Sakura's stealth skills still needed quite some improvement - but they managed a compromise.

When at home or resting, Sakura could wear girly, impractical, I-Am-HERE-Please-Come-Kill-Me colored dresses. When training or on missions, she was to wear dark, pragmatic, safe clothing that would not restrict her movements or get her killed.

When Sakura had pointed out that Naruto wore orange and black clothing - though thankfully, Maika had thrown away his jumpsuit long, long ago - Maika had bluntly refuted that Naruto could hide from Anbu when he put a mind to it and that, if, and when, Sakura could do the same, she could wear whatever she wanted.

There had been no more arguments after that. Honestly, what was the Academy _teaching_ these kids?

"He wandered off after our missions were off." Sakura told her, emerald eyes firmly set on the cake. "Is that cake done?!"

"Kami-sama save me from bottomless teenagers." Maika grinned, plating up the cake. "Sure it is. Eat up and tell me why my sempai is off being a hermit again."

Sakura rolled her eyes, grabbing a fork and happily digging into the carrot cake. "I'd hardly say he's being a _hermit_, Onee-san. Just..."

"Emo-ish." Naruto chirped cheerfully, making his way hurriedly into the dining room and taking a seat. "Lone wolf. Onee-chan, cake!"

"Some people do want to be alone now and then." Sasuke commented dryly as Maika threw a plate full of cake at the boys. They both caught it out of the air off-handedly - you had to learn to do that in this household or be deprived of your cake - and joined Sakura in stuffing their mouths. Missions, even boring, annoying D-ranks, were energy-consuming.

"Yeah, but Kakashi-sensei's alone like... most of the time!" Naruto nodded sagely, snapping his full mouth closed when Maika shot a look at him.

"Maybe because he has to listen to your loud mouth the other times?"

"Shut up, teme!"

"Make me, dobe!"

"Boys!" Sakura snapped, flipping her hair back. "I'm trying to eat here!"

"Hmph!"

"Well," Maika cut in smoothly, "nevertheless, I expect to see him at my table at dinner. If not, you three have the dubious honor of tracking him down and dragging him here."

"Got it!" Naruto grinned, no doubt excited at the prospect of getting some revenge on his teacher. Sasuke simply smirked smugly, and Sakura continued eating her cake without pause.

"Ne, ne, Onee-san!" Sakura suddenly perked up, a lightbulb lighting up above her head. "I forgot to tell you; Kakashi-sensei taught us how to tree-climb this morning!"

"Oh?"

"Yeah! I got to the top first!"

"Right! It was really awesome!" Naruto chimed in, beaming proudly at his teammate.

"Sakura _does_ have great chakra control." Sasuke noted neutrally, glancing sideways at his pink-haired teammate, on high alert for any resurfacing of fangirlishness.

To everyone's relief, Sakura only smiled demurely, eyes shining. While clearly happy that her teammates had complimented her, there were no high-pitched squeals, and Sasuke relaxed minutely, returning his attention to his cake.

"So you got to the top without trouble?" Maika asked, the barest edge of approval in her smile.

"Mm-hm. Kakashi-sensei said I should work on my endurance though."

"What about you, Naruto? Sasuke?"

Sakura snickered as Naruto poked desolately at his cake and Sasuke stared blankly off to the distance. "Afraid they didn't do so well, Onee-san."

Maika sweatdropped upon noticing the edge of gleefulness in Sakura's tone, but made no comment, figuring she deserved it after working so hard to catch up to the boys. "No?"

"Nope. Naruto barely got up three meters and Sasuke-ku - Sasuke couldn't get past halfway." Everyone politely ignored Sakura's slip-up - it was a work in progress.

"Hey! It's not my fault my chakra control sucks!" Naruto cried out, sticking his lip out sulkily.

"No, no, it's not." Maika soothed, understanding on her face. The blonde looked relieved and happy that someone finally sympathized with him... only for his face to darken with horror at her next words, "Which is why we'll be spending this afternoon working on chakra control for all three of you."

Naruto's cerulean blue eyes bugged out. "ONEE-CHAN!"

**II.**

"So... I'm a hermit now, am I, Maika-chan?" Kakashi peered down at the former-Anbu who simply smiled.

"Really, Kakashi-sempai," She said, hands on her hips, "if you'd just come when I asked you to, I wouldn't have had to send the three little munchkins after you."

The 'three little munchkins' grinned, smirked, and smiled at their teachers, quite proud of their success. It helped that Maika had informed them _where_ Kakashi-sensei was before sending them after him, but they were the ones who had persuaded - dragged - him back. Not that Kakashi had put up much of a fight.

"Still." Their esteemed sensei almost looked like he was going to pout like Naruto. "A _hermit_, Maika-chan."

"Hush. I'm doing my very best to rehabilitate you." She replied archly, making her way to the dining room. "Porn left at the door, please."

"Yeah, Kakashi-sensei, porn left at the door." Naruto grinned foxily, jumping forward.

"Porn left at the door~" Sakura sang, skipping towards the temptation of a warm, delicious dinner.

"Hn. Don't forget to leave your porn at the door." Sasuke threw him a mocking smirk before following his teammates.

Kakashi could only shake his head in despair, mourning helplessly. What had happened to his cute, adorable students?! "Maika-chan, you've corrupted my team!"

"You're welcome!" Came the sweet response.

**III.**

"A C-rank mission?" Maika blinked, frowned. "Already?" They had only been genin for a short time. It had taken months upon months for Team 13 to get a C-rank mission... but then again, none of them had been older than eight.

It hadn't been wartime, and, no matter their actual skill level, Konoha hadn't really been able to justify sending out a batch of children. It wouldn't have been unusual in wartime, but in peace, it would have raised a few eyebrows.

But Team 7 was a trio of twelve and thirteen year olds, so naturally it was different. Not that she was especially happy about it.

"Yeah!" Naruto's face lit up with excitement, before abruptly falling again. "But we have to escort an old geezer!"

"Hn. Just be glad that we got the mission at all, dobe." Sasuke advised, hands in his pockets.

"He's right, Naruto. You threw a temper tantrum in Hokage-sama's office!" Sakura said, looking torn between outrage and amusement.

"Well, it worked, didn't it?!" Naruto defended.

Maika blinked, smiled slowly. "You threw a temper tantrum in the Hokage's office?" She sounded delighted, to Sakura's open surprise.

Naruto just grinned widely while Sasuke smirked coolly, both of them having been with their sister long enough that he knew of her grudge against the old man.

Naruto himself adored Jiji - the old man had been the only one to take care of him in his childhood before Onee-chan had found him - but gladly set upon bothering the Sandaime with Sasuke on his sister's behalf. Oh, and for the pranking, of course. "Yup! And we got a C-rank mission!"

"Alright, shinobi and kunoichi." Maika made her voice command sharp, and the three genin snapped to attention, as they had been trained. "You should know what to pack: the scrolls I made labeled C-rank mission. Pack, shower and arrive back at this spot in five minutes, understood?"

"Hai!" They chorused like the good little soldiers they were. Maika smiled.

"Dismissed!"

While Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura ran off, Maika casually opened a window, dismantling the half a dozen traps she had put together. Swinging out, she nonchalantly stuck a seal that would provide a nice electric shock to anyone up for breaking and entering onto the window as she pulled it closed, and went off to find Kakashi.

**IV.**

"Kakashi-sempai." Maika said very seriously after she had tracked down her old Captain to the Memorial Stone. "I respect you very much. I am very grateful to everything that you have done for me." Kept her alive, kept Itachi alive, offered a hand in the darkness.

"But?" He said without looking up.

"But if you let those children get hurt, I won't forgive you." _Nee-san, Nii-san, Shisui-kun, Juro-sensei, Mikoto-sama. **Itachi-kun.**_

"Don't worry, Maika-chan." Kakashi said, glancing up and meeting her eyes with his. "If I let those children get hurt, I won't forgive myself." _Obito, Rin, Kushina-chan, Sensei..._

"Then we understand each other." Maika hesitated for a moment and then stepped forward, hugging Kakashi from behind. He froze, eye widening. It was painfully obvious that Hatake Kakashi was not used to physical contact.

"They would want us to be happy, sempai." She said, resting her head on his shoulder.

Kakashi made himself relax slowly, patting her awkwardly on the head. "I know." His voice was strained, and she said nothing more, the air between them weighed down with ghosts of the past. They both knew that knowing something and _knowing_ something was different.

Maika would forever wonder if she was doing what her parents, her older siblings, her teammates would have wanted.

**V.**

Maika walked Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to the gates, and peered critically at the old drunkard that waited. "That's your client?"

"Yeah. That's the old geezer all right." Naruto didn't sound too happy.

"I see." Walking ahead of the group, she went straight up to the drunkard, who blinked at her in surprise. Maika raised her hand for a handshake, smile perfectly friendly. "Hello. My name is Uzumaki Maika, and I'm the older sister of the genin who are going to escort you home."

The man stared at her in bafflement, reluctantly reaching out to shake her hand. "Ah, I'm Tazuna. From Wave."

Tazuna's hand was clammy in hers, cold and sweaty. Maika's smile widened. "It's good to meet you, Tazuna-san." Pulling away, she made her way to her kids and cautioned them to be vigilant.

Their client was too nervous.

When it came time for them to leave - Kakashi wasn't late, to the three's comical surprise - Maika smiled and waved them goodbye. Team 7 waved back and then Maika vanished in a whirl of Shunshin. If she made good time, she would be able to finish her B-rank mission and get back home before they would.

**VI.**

As it turned out, her mission went smoothly. All Maika had to do was assassinate a dirty old Mayor in a town not from Konoha, and she had dispatched the few guards littering his mansion with ease. She hadn't even had to draw Chitama. Maika poured on the speed and was back in Konoha not three days later.

However, after entering her apartment and taking a quick shower, a loud knock broke the peace. Pressing her lips together, Maika dried her hair with a convenient wind jutsu, pulled on a pale blue shirt and white pants, stuffed her feet into shinobi boots, and pulled open her door.

"What." She demanded flatly to the Cat Anbu outside her door.

"Hokage-sama requests your presence."

Narrowing her eyes in annoyance, Maika closed the door behind her and performed a Shunshin, the Anbu already leaving now that the message had been delivered. The red-haired woman appeared outside the Hokage's office seconds later and was hastily shooed in.

"Ah, Maika-chan." The Sandaime looked up from his paperwork with a faint frown. "It's good that you're back."

Well, that didn't bode well. But then again, when did it ever?!

"What happened?"

Sighing deeply, the Hokage proceeded to explain the clusterfuck Team 7 had managed to get themselves into on their first mission out of the village. Maika listened with growing disbelief and fury, gritting her teeth to keep from interrupting.

"So. Let me get this straight." She said when he fell silent, pink eyes flashing death. "Their client, Tazuna, was lying about the mission; he's made an enemy of a man named Gato; Team 7 encountered the Demon Brothers a few days into the mission but made the decision to go on anyways; they fought with Momichi Zabuza yesterday... and Kakashi-sempai thinks he's not dead and is going to come back with an unknown accomplice to try and kill them all."

"Err... yes." The Sandaime admitted with a faint wince. Put it like that and it did sound a little...

Maika _glared_. Spinning on her heel, she vanished in a blur of Shunshin, and Sarutobi leaned back in his seat, exhaling a breath of smoke. Well, he supposed he shouldn't be surprised that went as well as it did.

**VII.**

Maika estimated it would probably have taken Team 7 five days to a week to travel to the Country of Wave, depending on how slow their client was. They were three genin - genin that had mastered tree-climbing and had been started on water-walking, but genin nonetheless - and one jounin.

She was one jounin at nearly full power, former Anbu, and could pull off the Shunshin like nobody's business. Speed wasn't something she particularly lacked.

Maika was in Wave Country in three days, taking only short breaks for food and rest. However, that was still seven days after they had met with Zabuza, from the date on Kakashi's missive. Too long, far too long, anything could have happened in that time span -

The Uzumaki felt the explosion of chakra against her senses the second her foot touched down on the outlying waters that surrounded the country. It was familiar, this chakra, this rotten, dark chakra. She remembered it, of course, associated it easily with destruction and fire and death.

_A beautiful, red-haired woman with a warm embrace; a handsome, blonde man with a cheerful grin; gone, gone, gone, deaddeaddead - _

This...

This was the Kyuubi's chakra.

Maika was moving before she knew it, sprinting across the lake and leaving small waves in her wake. No. Not again, not now, not _Naruto_. The seal couldn't have broke, that would have made Nee-san and Nii-san's sacrifice useless, what would happen to Naruto?!

No.

No, no, _no!_

Chakra automatically boosting her muscles, the bridge was just coming into sight when she felt something else flare, dull against the Kyubi's malicious chakra. She recognized this one, too, sparkling lightning tinted with unyielding resolve and unparalleled strength.

Kakashi. Hatake Kakashi, the Copy-Nin, seasoned Anbu Captain, infamous A-rank shinobi in full force.

As Maika approached the half-finished bridge at her top speed, to her relief, she could feel the Kyuubi's red, red chakra diminish, eventually shutting down for good. It felt like a weight had just been lifted off her shoulders; she could _breathe_ again.

Minato's seal hadn't let them down.

"HAKU! NO!" Naruto's voice reached her loud and clear as, with a burst of chakra, Maika leapt straight off the lake and twenty feet into the air, twisting instinctively to assess the situation.

Zabuza Momichi registered in her field of vision first. He was quite an inconspicuous sight, standing bloody and ragged in the middle of the bridge, locked in place by several dogs that Maika identified as Kakashi's summons. His jaw was set, his eyes blazing in his last moments.

Kakashi Hatake showed up second. He was running forward head-on, ordinary eye hard and Sharingan eye spinning, bloodied and wounded. In his right hand, a lightning cutter crackling with the flat out strength of the S-rank assassination jutsu, the chirping of one thousands birds filling the air.

And Naruto stood in the center of puddles of nondescript water ten feet away, body littered with small wounds, face covered with pure horror. Cerulean eyes wide, mouth open, utterly focused on the boy currently racing towards both the Demon of the Mist and the Copy-nin.

Sasuke and Sakura laid behind him. At first glance, they appeared dead, but Maika was a sensor-nin, and she could feel their chakra signatures, nevertheless faint. They were fine. If she didn't do anything, the boy she assumed was Haku from process of elimination wouldn't be.

Speed. She needed speed.

Again.

Ah, Shisui-kun, Maika thought with a small, sad smile, how you continue to help me from beyond the grave.

Pouring in the chakra, Maika performed a flawless, seal-less Shunshin and found herself face to face with a lightning cutter aimed for her heart.


	17. Goodbye

**Me: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

><p><em>Last time:<em>

_Pouring in the chakra, Maika performed a flawless, seal-less Shunshin and found herself face to face with a lightning cutter aimed for her heart._

* * *

><p><em>"True love is selfless. It is prepared to sacrifice." ~Sadhu Vaswani<em>

**I.**

Maika had ten seconds.

That was ten seconds to observe the simply terrified expression on Kakashi's face, the gobsmacked incomprehension of Haku, the agonized _pain_ in Naruto's eyes when he saw what was happening.

She wanted to tell them that it was okay, that it was alright, that they didn't have to look at her like that.

But there was no time.

_"**ONEE-CHAN!" **_Naruto howled, tears and denial clogging up his voice, but Maika was already moving, Chitama drawn and slicing through the air. Laced with wind chakra, the flat of her blade hit Kakashi's wrist, sending his arm off two inches to the right.

It was a small difference.

It was an important difference.

Spinning to her left, Maika deftly tripped Haku, who went sprawling as Kakashi's lightning cutter hit the ground beside her, creating a crater of wood with splinters flying everywhere. She snuck a glance behind her to see that Zabuza was still immobilized before casually knocking Haku out.

The bridge was silent for a brief, brief moment. And then -

"Onee-chan!" Crying openly, Naruto slammed into Maika's legs, forcing the jounin to step back with a small "oomph." He hugged her tightly, rambling on incoherently. "I thought you were going to diieee! You can't die, got it?!"

She glanced down, smiled fondly. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders comfortingly, Maika turned her head to see Kakashi make his way to his feet, what she could see of his face ashen. He stared at her with one eye shining with terror.

Maika winced, offered up a small, apologetic smile. "Sorry, sempai. Got a bit carried away." She knew of Kakashi's ideals of friends and comrades, knew she had almost just made him break it. In her defense though, it had been _Naruto_ who had cried out...

Kakashi only shook his head and walked over to give her a one-armed hug, squeezing tight before releasing her almost nonchalantly. "Maa... it's okay. This is probably the best outcome anyway."

"Hmm... you're probably right." Maika looked down at Naruto, who still hadn't let her go. "Naruto, what happened to Sasuke and Sakura?" They weren't blood relatives, but blood wasn't everything.

Look at Itachi and the Uchiha Clan.

But then again, she mused, the same couldn't be said about Itachi and Sasuke. Huh. Maika expertly ignored the painful clenching of her heart. She would see her teammate once more, that was for sure. She would be okay.

Maybe.

Still sniffling, Naruto pulled back and used one hand to wipe away at his tears. "Umm... Haku knocked them out. I think they're okay though. He was nice, even though he tried to kill us."

Maika sweatdropped. "That's a bit of a contradiction... but I think they're fine, too."

"Humph."

Narrowing her eyes, Maika glanced back at Zabuza who sneered contemptuously. Naruto stiffened, withdrew completely, frowning at the missing-nin. Kakashi blinked, raising a casual eyebrow at his opponent.

"Haku... even in the end, you were a good little weapon, jumping in to protect me." Zabuza mused. "It's too bad you weren't strong enough to do anything more... like killing Kakashi."

Naruto balled up his hands, cerulean blue eyes searing. "Shut up! He almost killed himself for you! Do you really feel nothing?!"

"Shut up, kid." Zabuza said apathetically. "Haku was my tool. I've said it already... in the world of the shinobi there are only those who use, and those who are used. We shinobi are simply tools. What I wanted was his blood, not him. I have no regrets."

Maika watched quietly as Naruto steamed, face filled with a perplexed anger. For all that she had done her best to prepare her little sunshine for the shinobi world, he still retained that reservoir of naivety, of belief in the goodness of the world.

Maika had lost that belief when she was four, as she watched her village burn down around her. It had never truly recovered, even under Kushina and Minato's careful attention. Itachi had lost his around four, too, while Shisui had been far wiser than most people understood.

"Hey, do you really mean that?!" Naruto yelled, moving forward to point an accusatory finger at Zabuza. "He loves you! He _loves_ you! He almost threw his life away for you! If I become as strong as you... will I really become like you?!"

Zabuza said nothing more, but gritted his teeth and turned his head away, eyes shadowed. Maika was preparing herself to interfere before Naruto actually lunged at the man when a large amount of chakra signatures alerted her that something was wrong.

Low, malicious chuckles broke through the strained silence. Maika turned around slowly to see a short man wearing glasses and a black suit step forward, leading a group of thugs onto the bridge. "Oooh... you got your ass kicked. How disappointing, Zabuza..."

"Gato." Zabuza narrowed his eyes. "Why are you here...? And what's with all these men?"

Ahh... Maika stepped closer to Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Go see to Sasuke and Sakura." She said softly when he looked up at her. "Protect your client."

Naruto frowned, brow furrowing, evidently not prepared to give up his grudge on Zabuza, but conceded reluctantly, leaping away to where his teammates laid on the cold bridge, the old, alcoholic man watching over them.

"Hehe, the plan has changed." Gato announced with a smirk. "Well actually, I planned to do this from the beginning. Zabuza, I'm going to have you killed here."

"What?" Zabuza hissed indignantly.

"I never planned on paying you any money. Hiring a normal ninja from the village is expensive and they may betray me... so I get you missing-nins who are easy to take care of afterwards. I have the ninjas battle each other, and once they're weakened, I kill them off with numbers. It doesn't cost me anything; good plan, don't you think?"

Yes, yes it was a good plan. A cruel one, a deceitful one, but a good plan nonetheless. Unfortunately, Maika's admiration for Gato's manipulative genius only went so far.

"The only devil in the plan was you, Zabuza. The Demon of the Hidden Mist? What a joke, if you ask me. You're just a cute little baby demon." Gato laughed tauntingly.

"We can easily kill you now!" His thugs shouted, grinning brutally.

"Kakashi, I'm sorry. This fight is over. Now that I have no reason to go after Tazuna, I have no reason to fight you. Let me go." Zabuza said, dark eyes burning.

"Ah... you're right." Kakashi dispelled the jutsu, the nin-dogs vanishing with poofs of smoke. Going down to his haunches while Zabuza straightened up, the Hatake observed the scene coolly.

"Oh, yeah." Gato stepped up to the unconscious Haku's side. "I owe this one... you squeezed my arm until it broke." Indeed, his left arm was bundled up in bandages. "Heh, not so tough now, are you?"

He raised his leg, prepared to kick Haku's face... and promptly found the appendage cut off smoothly with a flicker of red. Shrieking with pain, Gato fell back onto his ass, face pale and eyes wide.

Maika stepped in front of Haku soundlessly, rose eyes cold. "You shall not touch this child." She said flatly. Chitama's sharpened and bloodied edge glinted in the faint light.

"Wh-Who are you?!" Gato yelled, clutching at his bleeding ankle. "Don't you know who I am?!"

"I don't particularly care."

"Y-You!" He seemed speechless all of a sudden, faced with a ninja who wasn't weak, wasn't tired, wasn't injured, and all too willing to kill him.

"Tch. I don't you to fight my battles, little girl." Zabuza stepped up beside her, wielding the famed Kubikiribocho.

"Don't be ridiculous, Momichi." She said bluntly. "I just happen to have a sense of honor."

He grunted, stealing a look at her face. "Hey... I know you. Aren't you 'Crimson Jasper' Uzumaki Maika?"

Her smile was razor-sharp, eyes still focused on the crowd of nobodies in front of her. "That's what my name was last time I checked, yes."

"Cheeky brat."

"And the last time I checked, I'm an A-rank shinobi, too." Maika pointed out nonchalantly.

"That's enough!" Gato screamed, pain edging his voice as he hobbled back to his troops. "Kill them already!"

"Sure thing!" Came the response from the idiots. "One pretty chick and one badly injured shinobi against these numbers?! You think you can win?!"

"You're not at my level." Zabuza said, hefting up his blade.

"We'll see." Maika smiled challengingly. "You want the bastard?"

"Hell yeah I want the bastard." He growled, baring his teeth. "You think you're good enough to take on the rest of them, little girl?"

She narrowed her eyes, grip tightening. "Sure I can. In fact, I bet you I'll take out more than you will."

Zabuza smirked. "I'll take that bet."

From behind them, Kakashi sweatdropped and shook his head. 'Maa... those two are sure getting along... well...'

"Ready... set..."

"GO!"

The thugs didn't stand a chance. They really didn't. Maika was speed and grace and the flash of silver and red. Zabuza was strength and ruthlessness and the grin of a demon. They had both been Anbu at one time, and neither needed help.

Gato's men were _decimated_.

"Wow..." Naruto whispered, cerulean blue eyes wide with awe and disbelief both. He had known that his older sister was a strong kunoichi, but this was... this was...

He was _never_ going to make her mad at him again.

"Uhh..." Came the moan from next to him, and Naruto blinked, hope flaring bright as Sasuke stirred slightly. Scrambling to his side, Naruto waited with baited breath for Sasuke's eyes to open.

A second later they did.

"Sasuke!" Naruto grinned openly, a weight falling from his shoulders. "You're finally awake, sleepyhead!"

Sasuke groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes with a wince. "Naruto...? What happened...? Is everyone okay?"

"Yeah!" Well," He corrected after a glance to Sakura, "Sakura-chan still isn't up, but she should be fine. Kakashi-sensei and Tazuna are okay, too. But... err... I don't think Gato's guys are doing so hot."

"That's a good thing, though!" Naruto tacked on hastily when Sasuke shot him a Look.

"Hn. Dobe, help me up so I can see."

Grumbling to himself, Naruto carefully heaved up his brother in all but blood and had the satisfaction of seeing his eyes widen as he took in the carnage.

"... I am _never_ going to make Nee-san mad at me again." Sasuke muttered.

Naruto chortled with laughter, the grin on his face decidedly foxy.

**II.**

"Haa... haa... y-you can't d-do this!" Gato gasped out hastily, fear etched deep into the lines of his face.

They ignored him casually, the last thug falling to the bloodied bridge with a dull thud as Maika flicked her wrist to clean the blood off of her blade.

"How many, brat?" Zabuza asked with a smirk, completely ignoring the blood staining his own blade.

"57." Maika said primly, quirking an eyebrow at him in fearless challenge.

"Humph. 56." Smirking widening in bloodlust, Zabuza stalked forward, cold eyes focused on Gato.

"S-Stop!" He cried out, flinging out a hand as if that would be enough to ward him off.

"Going to finish this?" She questioned, sheathing Chitama with a fluid, practiced motion.

Zabuza chuckled, starting to run, a blur that signaled one thing and one thing only. Death. "Watch me."

"NO!" Gato shouted, but his head was sliced clean off not a second later, the spray of blood crimson mist in the air. His decapitated head fell soundlessly through the air, hitting the ground not long before the body.

Zabuza spit on the corpse disdainfully, heaving his massive sword over his sword. "Good riddance, bastard."

"Hmm... looks like we have company." Maika mused, glancing over her shoulder at the numerous chakra signatures that fluttered against her senses.

A large crowd of villagers stood not far away, armed with pitchforks and make-shift spears, determination edging their stances. But their faces held nothing only shock as they stared at the dead body of one corrupt drug dealer. A small boy led them with a ridiculous little crossbow, eyes wide with shock and disbelief both, jaw somewhere on the ground.

"Inari...? You..." The old client breathed, tears coming to his eyes.

"INARI!" Naruto shouted happily, a grin splitting his face.

"Friend of yours, Naruto?" Maika asked, rather rhetorically.

"Yeah." He gave her an enthusiastic thumbs-up, eyes creasing.

"It's over." Zabuza said bluntly, staring unnervingly at the villagers, who shifted uneasily. "Gato's dead."

There was a second of silence. Another. And then -

"GATO'S DEAD!" Someone shouted and the dam broke. Weapons clattered to the ground now that they were no longer needed, fists pumped gleefully into the air, years of oppression broken in a heartbeat.

"We did it!"

"We're free!"

"Gato's really dead!"

"The Land of Waves is free again!"

**III.**

"What are you guys going to do now?" Naruto asked curiously, peering across the table at Zabuza and Haku. The former snorted, sprawled across his comparatively tiny chair while the latter smiled kindly.

Tsunami, the daughter of Tazuna and the mother of Inari had originally been hesitant to allow the two enemy ninja who had tried to kill her father into her home, but Naruto's puppy-eyes had won her over in the end!

"What does it matter?" Zabuza said, taking a swig of the alcohol he had threatened out of Tazuna, "We're not after the old man anymore."

Sakura, seated to Naruto's right and to Sasuke's left, sniffed, "Of course it matters! We can't have you two just running loose!"

Zabuza scoffed, raising an eyebrow a fraction, "Girl, if I ever needed you to look after me, I give you permission to escort me back to Kiri to get my head chopped off as I would have undoubtedly sunk lower than can be redeemed."

"You haven't answered the question." Sasuke pointed out indifferently as Sakura bristled, emerald eyes flashing fire.

"We will most likely be traveling towards Kumo in search of new jobs." Haku said softly in an effort to diffuse the rising tension.

"Kumo, huh?" Maika, currently acting as the only buffer between Naruto and Zabuza, brushed back a lock of her dark red hair, rose eyes contemplative. "Things have been quiet there for a while."

"You could always go back to Kiri." Kakashi commented lazily, nose buried in his porn. "Stage another coup d'etat.

Zabuza shot him a shrewd, unamused look. "You just want me out of the way." He deadpanned.

"Yup!" Kakashi confirmed cheerfully, utterly unrepentant.

"Now, sempai, you could at least be subtle about it," Maika scolded halfheartedly, a faint smirk on her lips.

"But what fun would that be?"

"Hmm, true."

"You're both devils." Zabuza decided firmly. The eye-smile and cheshire grin that was their response did, in no way, deter that conclusion.

The rest of the table sweatdropped and shook their heads, wisely making the decision to keep out of it.

**IV.**

"So, this is goodbye then." Kakashi said neutrally a week later.

"Yeah." Zabuza said gruffly, turning to glare at a certain Uzumaki. "Oi, blondie, let Haku go!"

"Noooo!" Naruto tightened his grip on the other boy's waist, a childish pout on his face. "Haku, you can't leave already!"

"I'm sorry, Naruto." Haku responded, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "But it is my duty to follow Zabuza-sama wherever he goes."

"Stop that!" Sakura scolded lightly. "I thought we've talked about the whole tool thing. It's not mentally healthy!"

"Ah, I'm sorry, Sakura. A minor lapse." Haku smiled, not in the least apologetic.

Sasuke merely rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Don't be pathetic, dobe. Let him go."

"But-but-but -"

_"Naruto."_ Maika said simply.

Naruto deflated and reluctantly let Haku go, knowing perfectly well not to disobey that tone of voice. "Fine." He sulked, before turning to scowl at Zabuza, "Bandage, don't you let yourself sink so low to let someone like Gato boss you around again, got it?! And don't go dragging Haku into your messes either!"

Zabuza's eye twitched. "Who do you think you are, brat?!"

"You heard me!"

"Brat, I'm going to cripple you!"

"No you won't." Maika said resolutely, jaw firming. "Momichi, aren't you supposed to be leaving?"

He sneered at her. "Like I would let a couple of brats like you order me around!"

"Yeah, yeah, grandpa." She said dismissively, watching him choke on thin air with a smirk. Maika was barely eighteen, and by her count, Zabuza had to be somewhere in his high twenties.

"Gr-Grandpa?!" Zabuza repeated incredulously, hold on Kubikiribocho tightening, "Did you just call me _Grandpa_?!"

"What of it?" She absently inspected her nails.

"Why you - !"

"Now, now, children, don't argue." Kakashi cut in, amused.

"... You're right, sempai." Maika nodded, waiting for him to go back to his porn before squashing his satisfaction flat, "You're the grandpa."

Kakashi's head snapped up so fast she was surprised something wasn't sprained, one eye huge with shock. His jaw worked, but nothing came out but strange gurgling sounds. Maika blinked innocently while Naruto erupted into laughter, Sakura giggled, and even Sasuke cracked a chuckle. Haku politely hid a smile while Zabuza smirked arrogantly.

"M-Me?! I'll have you know my hair is natural!" Kakashi defended, highly affronted.

"Suuure, sensei." Naruto snorted.

"It's true!"

"Mm-hm, we totally believe you."

"Look what you've done, Maika-chan!"

**V.**

As soon, _as soon_, as they were home, Maika plopped Team Seven down and demanded they explain everything that had happened. Cordially and with a serene smile, of course - Mikoto hadn't taught her all those years ago for nothing.

Naruto gulped hard, Sakura bit her lip, Sasuke stared hard at the tablecloth, and Kakashi spilled the beans.

Maika listened very, very calmly as the older jounin described how they had first met Zabuza after landing on the Land of Waves; they had clashed, sempai had gotten captured, the three genin had stepped up to the plate. After some careful planning, out of the tough spot they had gone, and Haku had made his appearance to pick up his master.

After that, a week of training for the grasshoppers, some new jutsu - did she know that Naruto had wind affinity, Sasuke lightning, and Sakura earth? - and then part two with Zabuza and Haku was up. Sasuke and Naruto had gotten themselves trapped in an ice prison, Sakura had jumped in to help, Sakura and Sasuke had gotten knocked out.

That was where things got a little blurry.

Kakashi looked Maika straight in the eyes, jaw clenched, eye burning, and said Naruto had taken Haku out in a fit of strength and fury. One glance at her little brother, shaken and lost, and she knew what had happened. It would have been a harder blow had she not known Minato.

Maika believed in her Nii-san's genius.

After that, Kakashi had succeeded in restraining Zabuza, had been preparing to kill him when Haku noticed and wheeled off from his fight to intervene. And then Maika was there and the rest was history. She nodded and was quiet, remained quiet as the seconds passed and the others fidgeted.

Finally, Maika said so, so calmly, "Sempai, take Sasuke and Sakura out please. I need to talk to Naruto."

Kakashi scrutinized her for a moment before nodding in consent, "Sasuke, Sakura, come on." They left, the two genin throwing concerned and questioning looks at Naruto, who just looked bewildered.

"Onee-chan?" Naruto whispered, those familiar, familiar cerulean eyes swimming in confusion.

"Hush." Rising to her feet, Maika pressed her palm flat to the wall and channeled a touch of chakra. The powerful silencing seal she had inscribed in the wall flared to life, enclosing the room in a barrier that wouldn't allow any sound out.

Over the years, and, as her proficiency with fuinjutsu had increased even as she juggled raising Naruto and Sasuke, the many missions she was saddled with, and keeping track of Itachi from wherever he was around the world, she had steadily added seals, fatal and not, to her home.

They came in handy. Especially when idiots on October 10th tried to break in and hurt her nephew. They always regretted it... as they should.

Returning to her seat, Maika looked at Naruto and sighed. "There's something you need to know."

* * *

><p><strong>Aaaannnd that's all I have. Sorry, everybody, but it's been a lovely ride and this is the end. This is where Promise of Jasper is officially discontinued. Thanks to everyone for sticking with me for this long! <strong>

**~gemstoneshaman**


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